WEST Cork farmers have been urged to identify and note the names of any contractors doing hedgerow maintenance on behalf of the ESB.

Chairperson of ICMSA’s Farm Business Committee, Pat O’Brien said his association is currently helping with a case where stock was badly injured having broken out following damage to a fence by contractors.

He noted that that contractors are supposed to ensure that clippings and cuttings are not left blocking drains and ditches, something that not all contractors, he regretted to say, were scrupulous about.

“We are telling farmers to identify and note the names of the contractor teams carrying out this work, so that in the event of there being a dispute over what had been done – or not done – by these contractors, farmers can cite the exact team, locations and date to the ESB for follow up,” he said.

“We’d also stress to farmers the wisdom of taking photos of unsatisfactory jobs so that there’s pictorial evidence to support any complaint.”

Mr O’Brien said that they are having their attention brought to instances of stock being injured and drainage being blocked by shoddy work.

“We are having cases where farmers querying the identification of these contractors are being confronted by people who either do not speak English or purport to not being able to do so. It’s not good enough.”

He said that where contractors are being sent out to do work like this on hedges or trees, the onus must be on the ESB to ensure that their identities have been conveyed to the farmers concerned and that the work is carried out to the required standard and that there is always someone “on site” who has enough English to answer queries from the farmers concerned.

“ICMSA repeats its warning to farmers that in these circumstances, it is always wise to identify exactly who are the crew contracted by the ESB to work on your hedges.

Do not assume that if anything goes wrong and once they have left, that you’ll be able to identify them at that stage.”

“Right now, stock is being brought back in from out farms and farmers mightn’t be aware on a daily basis of who is in those fields and paddocks, which are a bit of a distances from the home farms, it’s so important to know who is on your land and what they are meant to be doing.”