‘Farmers hardship won’t melt away with snow’ – McAteer
Newry Agriculture Spokesperson Councillor Declan McAteer and his colleague Councillor Sean O’Hare have called for a one off fee waiver on the collection of livestock which has perished during the heavy snow fall.
Speaking to Newry Times, McAteer said, “We met with farmers in the Hilltown area in Newry who continue to be badly hit as a result of the treacherous weather conditions.
“A number of these farmers have lost valuable livestock and on top of everything else, they are now looking at substantial fees for the collection of fallen stock. There is a genuine case to be made for special arrangements to be put in place to collect dead stock free of charge or at the very least at a subsidized rate.”
SDLP Councillor Sean O’Hare backed McAteer’s call. He stated, “We welcome the fact that our Party colleague Joe Byrne has called an emergency meeting of the Agriculture Committee in Stormont for tomorrow morning.
“We have asked him to raise this issue at the meeting and urge the committee to take action to help farmers deal with the aftermath of this crisis. The hardship facing farmers won’t melt away with the snow”, he added.
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