The Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan, has had a very long and trying day so I will keep my contribution to the minimum. The livelihood of a very large community of farmers in west Roscommon in the River Suck valley area is the central issue.
The Suck valley is a flat low lying area. To illustrate the flatness of the territory, the river, after traversing an 11 mile course, has got three miles closer to its destination, joining the River Shannon just south of Ballinasloe. It meanders through the valley. Every year from October-November until May or June the land in the valley is flooded. In some farms as much as 75 per cent of the land is flooded, in other cases 5 per cent of the farm is flooded. Unlike other areas classified as severely disadvantaged, the Suck Valley does not lend itself to alternative farming practices such as sheep, goat or deer farming that can be successful enterprises in mountainous areas. In other areas where the land is not so good it can be used for forestry but none of those options is suitable to this valley since it is under water for approximately seven or eight months of the year.
The flooded land is not available for use for grazing until mid-June so there is only a four month period when the land can be used leaving the land unusable for eight months. The only indigenous species to be found during that eight month period from October to June are the wild geese.
I implore the Minister of State to use his best offices to have this area reclassified under the third tier of extremely severely disadvantaged handicapped areas. Those descriptive words certainly describe the region.
If an aerial survey of the area was carried out during June or July, one would have a most misleading impression of what the land is capable of producing. Aerial photography would show a green level area, giving no indication of what it is like from November to the following May or June when it could be under three, four or five feet of water. If a survey is to be carried out winter conditions should be borne in mind.
We talk about preserving rural communities, which is very desirable. On occasions we lend it lip service rather than assistance. We can lend practical support to the people living in the locality by having it reclassified under the third tier.
It could be argued that the farmers in the area are entitled to premium and other headage payments but as 75 per cent of their land may be flooded for eight months of the year they are limited in the number of stock they can keep, consequently the headage and premium payments are reduced and they have lower incomes. There was a conference in UCG 12 months ago which referred to the right of the people of the west to live in their own territory. This is one way the Minister can see to it that the people of the west will get the chance during the next couple of generations of living in the area in which they were born. I repeat that the people in this area cannot resort to forestry or alternative systems and the wild geese are their only friends during the winter.
