Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are serious concerns in the south Inishowen area at activities on what was known as Grianán Estate. It is the largest farm in the country. This estate was purchased by Glenmore Estate in 2017 and earlier this year The Irish Timesreported that it was estimated that hundreds of trees including ash, sycamore, birch, whitebeam and willow, had been destroyed and miles of hedgerows torn out on this farm. The matter has been raised with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and with the National Parks and Wildlife Service. This massive estate borders an internationally renowned bird and wildlife sanctuary. Right now it is subject to an ongoing Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine investigation. The wider community is outraged by the dramatic change to the landscape in a much loved area.

Recent developments have turned concern into absolute outrage. The owners of this farm operate an anaerobic digester and one of the by-products of this is digestate, which is spread on the land. Rural people who live in these areas are used to slurry spreading and farming practices going back as far as anybody can remember. They are not people who would have any difficulty with that. However, the smell of ammonia is just an assault on a large area of south Inishowen. Apparently our current legislation is allowing this to happen. We would expect the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and Donegal County Council to defend the interests of the community. A confirmation day was totally ruined in the local hotel because the smell was utterly overwhelming and suffocating. We had a situation recently where somebody was holding a wake for their loved one and the house was overcome. Everybody's home is devastated by the smell. There is need for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to be made aware of the serious and profound problems that have arisen. There is a need for legislative change. The Ministers have to pull together with the EPA, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Donegal County Council to solve this problem on behalf of the local community and hold this business to account for what is an assault.It might be technically legal to do what they are doing but it is utterly unethical to do what they are doing right now and it has to stop.