We have been basking in unseasonably hot weather and while it is receiving a broad welcome it is not without its challenges.

The entire country is now under a hosepipe ban as Uisce Éireann warns of drought conditions and shortages which look set to persist if the weather forecasters are right.

This week Leinster and Tipperary were placed under a hot weather warning with tropical nights – a relatively new phenomenon for us islanders which sees temperatures drop no lower than 20C – presenting difficulties for young and old alike.

Pets and livestock are also struggling to get to grips with the heat and keeping them out of the glaring sun is paramount where possible. Not to mention hydration which brings its own issues.

Global warming is not a new concept. But the increase in extreme weather events has concentrated our minds perhaps a tad more than in the past.

Spare a thought for farmers in this incessant heat. Earlier this week Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon convened a meeting with Teagasc to discuss the National Fodder Survey.

His message came in direct response to the ongoing dry weather and the grass growth (or lack thereof) which does not bode well for fodder stocks for the coming winter months.

Dairy farmers are already struggling with milk yields down year on year. And another weather issue – persistent rain in February – meant many could not get their livestock out into the fields until March of this year.

Now the same livestock are sweltering under a sizzling sun with little by way of food to see them into the colder months. The ongoing drought means that while there is fodder for now, there may well not be for the latter half of the year.

Grass growth rates are severely down on last year due to severe moisture deficits. Teagasc has been called in to monitor fodder stocks and report back to Government.

If warranted, Minister Heydon said the next step could be to reconvene the National Fodder and Food Security committee. In the meantime the advice to farmers is to continue grass measurement to assess pasture supply. Winter feed stocks will also need to be considered when deciding supplementation strategies.

Of course this will hit not just farmers but consumers right across the board. The knock-on effect of a supply shortage is higher prices. We will all feel it in our pocket.

It’s hard to remember the last time we thought of rain with such longing. But longing there is. Perhaps the Child of Prague could take on a new role if we all bury one in the garden.

Embarrassing roads

IT comes as no surprise to any West Cork motorist, or cyclist for that matter, that almost €100m is needed to resurface national secondary roads across the county, some of which like the N71 and N22 are in a dismal, appalling state.

It’s also a sad state of affairs that some of our regional and local roads are indeed in better shape than the national secondary roads.

The matter came to a head recently as a delegation from Cork County Council met with Transport Infrastructure Ireland to press home their case for more funding for our neglected ‘national’ routes.

Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) rightly pointed out that it is embarrassing that national (N) routes are in a worse state than many regional or local (L) roads. Embarrassing is right that for decades Cork county has been starved of funding to cater for the country’s largest network of roads.

And while TII officials seemed more responsive this time, the proof really is in the pudding.

The much-neglected N71 has been a point of discontent for decades now. One has to question how it has been left in such a state of disrepair, from the Gateway of West Cork in Bandon all the way West? And let’s not forget the N22 which is in serious and urgent need of repair along stretches of what is meant to be the main Cork to Tralee route.

It really is a case of show Cork County Council the money, lots of it in fact and get our public roads up to shape.