NI Conservatives’ agriculture spokesman, Paul Leeman, has welcomed workers' efforts to help farmers whose livelihoods are being affected by the heavy snowfall and called upon DARD to make sure it was prepared for the aftermath of the crisis.
“The snow has caused horrendous problems in rural areas, which have exacerbated a bad year for farmers”, Paul said. “We should acknowledge that a lot of department workers, NIE employees, roads service staff and others have been working around the clock to provide relief for the communities affected”.
“It’s also extremely welcome that the Ministry of Defence will provide a helicopter, in order to get food to animals that are stuck in snowdrifts. The Conservative NIO minister, Mike Penning, has done a great job of organising this and any other support which armed forces can provide should be accepted immediately”.
“There’s no room to be complacent though. Farmers still clearly need more help as soon as possible. DARD needs to look at ways to release payments for farmers quickly, including any payments which are currently snared up in the system. The department also needs to work closely with the insurers on behalf of farmers, to make sure that any claims are processed quickly and fairly”.
“The agri-food sector is critical for Northern Ireland’s economy and farmers are at the sharp end of that industry. DARD and all the other agencies must put in a huge effort to provide help as quickly and efficiently as possible”.