A Tipperary TD has questioned a response from the Agriculture Minister in relation to the problems experienced by a Kilkenny farmer.
Chair of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee Jackie Cahill raised the case of Dan Brennan in Castlecomer in the Dáil last night.
Livestock and trees on the farm failed to thrive in the 1990s and early noughties – tests and visits by experts showed that the farmer and his practices weren’t to blame.
Many felt the problem was caused by a now closed brick factory in the area.
A response in the Dail last night on behalf of the Agriculture Minister said common infectious diseases caused much of the problems on the Brennan farm.
Deputy Cahill says this is definitely not the case.
“That’s just fiction. When animals left the herd to go for trials elsewhere their thrive recovered. And there was 45 acres of vegetation, ditches, etc. that died on the farm.
“So how can someone say that there wasn’t environmental pollution. When the factory closed all the problems changed. It’s just not right to say that ‘twas infectious diseases that caused the problems on Dan Brennan’s farm – that is just not the case.”
