The Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalouge was in Drumkeerin today to meet with the local farmers and landowners impacted by the landslide which took place on Shass Mountain in June 2020.
Minster McConalogue is the second Agricultural minister to visit the scene of the landslide which caused major damage to lands in areas such as the Dawn of Hope.
Former Agricultural Minister Barry Cowen also visited the scene in the days after the landslide took place.
Speaking to OceanFM’s John Lynch, Minister McConalogue confirmed that he is working on a compensation package for the farmers that own land which is now covered by over 16,000 tonnes of peat which was dislodged during the landslide. The Minister acknowledged that it not feasible to remove such a quantity of the material. Minister McConalogue says that he is well aware of the level of stress that this event has caused to local farmers. He confirmed that farm payments for the lands in question will continue for next year as the event is classed as ‘Force majeure’
Finally in the interview the Minister for Agriculture expressed his confidence that compensation process would be completed by the end of 2021 or early 2022.
