This article is from page 2 of the 2006-12-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
A WAR of words look set to erupt between Clare farmers and GAMA Constructions Ltd if flooding problems caused by the construction of the €190 million Ennis bypass are not resolved in the next four months.
Lands belonging to between 20 and 25 farmer in the Barefield area have been effected by flooding as a result of run off from the roads construction over the last number of months.
This flooding has been compounded by record high levels of rainfall in the county since September and there is a fear among farmers that flooding will become a yearly event if corrective action is not taken.
“People feel that there is a real danger that there will be a problem with the flooding of farmland because of the road and we would like this to be addressed before it is opened,” said Seamus Murphy, President of the IFA in Clare.
“They have said that their specifications for the road is capable of getting rid of the water and not causing flooding. There is a lot of water and the pressure on the water system is far greater than it has ever been before.”
A top level meeting between Clare IFA and the Turkish construction company failed to reach a resolution to the problem when it took place in Ennis last week. Representatives from GAMA agreed to monitor the situation and another meeting has been scheduled for January of next year.
Local farmers have expressed concern that, should the flooding situation not be resolved before completion of the Ennis by-pass, that they will not be able to challenge GAMA when they have left the area.
“GAMA is coming to the end of their contract and the fear is that they would just walk away and leave when it is up,” continued Mr Murphy.
“They said that there would not be a problem and they have given us a commitment to meet with us again in January and address the issue again at that time.”
The Ennis by-pass is scheduled for completion on April 11 of 2007.
Since construction began on the Ennis bypass, GAMA has been embroiled in a number of high profile controversies including planning issues relating to a number of quarries opened by the Turkish company to facilitate construction work on the bypass and a dispute with employees involving payments below the minimum wage.