The Meteorological Service has confirmed that rainfall in the seven days up to last Tuesday night was 200-300 per cent above average for this time of year. It is predicting more wet weather over Ireland by the weekend.
The exceptionally wet weather, which contributed to the low poll in the general election, has created problems for farmers and sporting organisations. A spokesman for the Met Service said that for most of the country rainfall had been very high. It had varied from 19mm in north Donegal to 60mm at Cork Airport in the seven-day period.
The south-west and the extreme north-west had escaped most of the rainfall, but the readings from Malin Head station had recorded rainfall at 127 per cent of normal in the seven-day period.
The spokesman said the Belmullet station had recorded 45.5mm of rain, which was 299 per cent of normal, while Clones in Co Monaghan had a reading of 52.7mm or 360 per cent of normal over the seven days. Mullingar had recorded 50mm or 333 per cent of normal; Dublin Airport 27mm or 209 per cent; Kilkenny 43mm or 308 per cent; Cork 60mm or 309 per cent; and Rosslare 41mm or 311 per cent.
Vegetable growers in north Co Dublin, where half of Ireland's vegetables are grown, complained yesterday that they would be facing severe crop losses if the wet weather continued.
Mr P.J. Jones, the Irish Farmers' Association's national field vegetable market co-ordinator, said that many crops were waterlogged and lettuce and cauliflower growers were facing a ruinous season if more rain arrived. "There was 73mm of rain in Rush last Friday and if there is any more there will be heavy losses. This happened before, in 1993, and one in three growers went out of business," he said.
Mr Michael Miley, a spokesman for Teagasc, said that continuing heavy rain could hit silage harvesting, which is about to begin on the east coast.
• Almost three months after the flooding of the Ringsend and Irishtown areas in Dublin, which resulted in the Government sanctioning a €15 million refurbishment scheme for affected properties, proper remedial work to the river wall has yet to be carried out.
The cost of the remedial work is estimated at about €2.5 million, but while the Government has begun a €15 million refurbishment programme for the houses, Dublin City Council has said it has no funds for the sheet piling on the wall.