Tipp farmers respond strongly to European water improvement scheme

THE Councillors of Nenagh Municipal District were given the good news during their May monthly meeting that the farmers of Tipperary are responding very strongly and positively to a European water improvement scheme.
This EU scheme is called “Farming for Water” and it's being administered by LAWPRO (Local Authority Waters Programme). It's a €60 million agri-environmental scheme for farmers spanning a five-year period, 2023 to 2027. Teagasc and Dairy Industry Ireland are co-managing the scheme.
Two members from LAWPRO told the Nenagh MD meeting that the Farming for Water project “aims to address very significant challenges in a prioritised way. An advisor carries out a water quality assessment of the farm. There's then a discussion with the farmer to agree which measures he/she will undertake. The advisor will then make an application for the European funding.”
The amelioration measures include Bovine and Ovine exclusion from watercourses; Solar Power Electric Fences; sourcing alternative water supplies; introducing Water Troughs and Bunded Drains.
Other amelioration measures include Hedgerows; Riparian Buffer Zones; Tree planting in Buffer Zones; Wetland Ponds; Earthen Bunds; Watercourse Crossings; and Willow Beds.
The meeting was told that the scheme in Tipperary has received 2035 applications so far. 2028 of these applications have been processed.
The meeting was also told of the plan to tackle the Giant Hogweed problem in the Cappawhite (Mulkear River catchment).
The Councillors welcomed the good news that a large number of applications have been made. Cllr Phyll Bugler welcomed it but pointed out that “older farmers are used to paper; but all these apps and online stuff is a bit foreign to them. It's very good therefore that the advisor is tackling the application part, the bureaucratic part, of the project.”
Cllr Michael O'Meara praised the LAWPRO team. “You are bringing the farming community along with you, which is vitally important. In my area there is a significant number of watercourse catchment areas but in the winter they are flooding and the conditions can become challenging. I would like to see you start a project in our Lorrha area. How many farmers would you need buy-in from to get it up and running? Would it be ten, twenty?
“It's encouraging to learn that in North Tipperary the water quality of the rivers and streams has begun to improve a little bit.”
Cllr John Carroll said it was “great to see so many applications for this project.”
Cllr Seamus Morris pointed out that this was a great project because LAWPRO is working, on the ground, together with the farmers.
“However, much more needs to be done in North Tipperary. Our Wastewater Treatment Plants are under severe pressure. A number of them are near capacity or at capacity. The farmers get blamed for a lot, but Uisce Eireann has to be brought to task for not tackling the Wastewater Treatment Plants problem in our county.”
Cllr Fiona Bonfield, Cathaoirleach, pointed out that “having the LAWPRO team on the ground is great and we are seeing fantastic, positive work.”
A member of the LAWPRO team told the meeting that, “We are targeting areas where the water quality is in significant decline due to excess nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment. The solar pumps provided by the scheme stop the need for cattle walking down to the river, entering its waters and drinking from it. It's better if livestock are not directly entering the river. We are also advising the relocating of sheep dips which are too near rivers or streams.”
Cllr Joe Hannigan agreed with Cllr Morris' point about the Wastewater Treatment Plants. “The lack of adequate water infrastructure is a major impediment at the moment. It seems at the moment that the only plant which Uisce Éireann will upgrade is the Nenagh Plant. During a Housing Crisis we can't get buildings built because of the inadequate water infrastructure."
Cllr Michael O'Meara agreed. “The Housing Crisis is the most important issue of our times. Despite that, the national media recently focussed on the Housing Tsar. And yet you have young people out there crying out for housing. And yet the national media, looking for cheap headlines, focus a lot of their attention on the Housing Tsar. How low has our national media gone? Their behaviour in this matter was a scandal. The government was honestly trying to solve the housing problem by appointing this Housing Tsar.”
Cllr Joe Hannigan said it was a pity large protests years ago stopped Water Charges from being introduced. “If Water Charges had been introduced we wouldn't be seeing this problem now with our Wastewater Treatment Plants. There's now a critical lack of houses in North Tipp. I also believe that houses are being sold for €50,000 above what they should be.”
Cllr Phyll Bugler said there's a water capacity issue with the WWTPs in Cloughjordan, Ballycommon and Silvermines. Cllr Hannigan said Ballina WWTP received an upgrading.