NI Conservatives’ agriculture spokesman, Paul Leeman, has questioned whether the Sinn Féin minister’s reluctance to ask the RAF for help prevented DARD from saving the lives of thousands of animals in areas like County Down and the County Antrim hills.
“The department’s workers on the ground have been doing a sterling job in difficult circumstances”, Paul emphasised. “However, pictures from the police helicopter over the weekend made it patently obvious just how serious conditions on the ground were becoming for farmers and their livestock, in some of the worst affected areas.”
“Given how the situation was clearly deteriorating into a crisis, were Michelle O’Neill and her officials getting fully involved in the planning and cross border cooperation which took place at PSNI headquarters over the weekend? Did the minister scour the island of Ireland for a large helicopter, which was highly unlikely to be found, rather than immediately asking the NIO for help from the military? As soon as the request was made it was acted upon immediately.”
“There must be a strong suspicion that the narrow minded politics of Sinn Féin once again prevented the department from providing as effective a service as possible to the people of Northern Ireland. Farmers have a right to know why the minister took so long to ask for the forces’ help and whether it has cost them the lives of their animals.”