A TD for Clare has said that Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Healy-Rae, is engaging with Teagasc and other stakeholders on the impact of Storm Éowyn on the horticulture sector.
Fine Gael TD Joe Cooney said today (Tuesday, February 4) that Minister Healy-Rae has confirmed to him that his officials are assessing the extent and significance of the damage caused.
It is understood that the minister is set to meet representatives of the horticultural sub-sectors at a meeting of the Horticulture Industry Forum on February 11, where the impact of the storm will be discussed, as well as wider sectoral issues.
Cooney said that he was “satisfied the the department is treating the matter with the urgency it deserves”.
Over the weekend, Cooney urged Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon to consider the introduction of a financial support scheme for small-scale food producers who have been impacted by Storm Éowyn.
The Clare TD said that the market garden sector was among the sectors worst affected by the storm.
In a written submission to Minister Heydon, the Clare TD said that these food producers engage in a high value, low-impact sustainable use of land.
“Much of the sector in Clare is small scale, comprising small plots of land, largely under polytunnels and servicing farmers’ markets and other small retailers,” he said.
“These operations are extremely vulnerable to high winds and Storm Éowyn has decimated many of them, at a critical time in their planting calendar.
“If the polytunnels are not replaced quickly, key planting times will be missed, and a full growing and consequential sales season will be lost, causing huge financial hardship, resulting in many small-scale food producers being forced to close their operations,” Cooney added.
He said: “I look forward to hearing what supports will be offered to assist these market gardeners in repairing or replacing their polytunnels damaged in [the] storm.”
Meanwhile, former minister of state and newly-elected senator Malcolm Noonan has called for emergency funding to be made available for the horticulture sector in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn.
Noonan, who has just been elected for the Seanad’s Agricultural Panel, said that growers have lost polytunnels around the country “at a crucial time of the year” when many would be planting at the start of the growing season.
“These growers are important to our food security and to local economies as many supply local markets across the country,” Noonan added.