Modern roads are a no-go for cattle
The days are long gone when you could walk cattle on the roads of Ireland, declared Cllr Ger Darcy as his colleague on the Nenagh Municipal District authority, John Carroll, called for aid for farmers who want to develop underground passages for livestock to avoid taking the risk of moving them across busy thoroughfares.
The discussion at the January meeting of the municipal district comes after the death of three cows on the M7 outside Nenagh last September.
Cllr Carroll said that safety issues faced by farmers meant that an increasing number of them now wanted to build underpasses on their farms to move their livestock around their farms while avoiding having to take them across public roads. He said funding and technical assistance was needed to help such individuals develop these structures.
Cllr Darcy said the days of walking cattle on roads was gone, and an increasing number of farmers were now building underpasses on their lands at their own expense. The costs of such works were extremely high and as Cllr Carroll had pointed out, there were a lot of logistics to be faced by those wishing to build such structures. While there were several aid schemes for farmers for other initiatives, help in funding underpasses was something that seemed to have “fallen between stools”.
“We need to get the Government on board to look at this one,” said Cllr Darcy. “We have farmers crossing cattle and cows on the roads every day of the week and they have to get out three to four family members to help them because they are afraid of their lives. This is something we need to get moving on and I support John Carroll one hundred percent on this one,” said Cllr Darcy.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Michael O' Meara said securing funds and other assistance for farmers for the development of underpasses was a huge issue, particularly in Tipperary where agriculture was such a key part of the economy. He felt the issue should be put before a full meeting of the county council for consideration.
ENGINEER REQUIRED
District Manager Marcus O' Connor, who is also the Director of Roads for the county council, said he would like to see more underpasses developed to reduce the risk of accidents on roads. However, the full rigours of obtaining planning permission applied in such instances and the proposed structures had to be designed by a registered chartered engineer.
Mr O' Connor said there was a particular instance in another part of the county where an underpass had been poorly done, which resulted in the structure having to be dismantled. Taking the large traffic volumes and heavy lorries on roads today, it was vital that safety was key and that underpasses that were built posed no danger to farmers themselves or road users.
Cllr Carroll said he totally agreed with the views expressed by Mr O' Connor, but there was a cost issue for farmers that he wanted addressed. He agreed to a suggestion by Cllr O' Meara to draft a motion to be put before a full meeting of the council on the issue.