The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has demanded an urgent review of the inspections procedures within the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

During a meeting of the Farmer’s Charter review group in Portlaoise today, July 13, the Deputy President of the IFA, Richard Kennedy, also called for a review of the appeals process.

This came after a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture on July 4, where controversy over the number of inspections carried out in north Tipperary was discussed.

Vice-chair of the committee Jackie Cahill claimed that the Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture, Aidan O’Driscoll, admitted in the meeting that changes had been made to the terms and conditions of the department’s handbook on inspections without consultation of farmer representative groups.

Today, Kennedy requested that the publication of the handbook be made public to ensure transparency on the instructions given to inspectors and on how inspections are carried out on the ground.

He said: “The IFA is looking for a plan of action by the department to bring about real change so that farmers are treated fairly and we expect the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed to take a hands-on approach to this important issue, in line with the commitments given to the Oireachtas Committee and the programme for government.”

North Tipp inspections

The department has accepted that the number of inspections carried out in north Tipperary is above the national average, but it has rejected claims that penalties in the overall county are “exceptionally high”.

According to the department, the prevalence of farming in Tipperary compared to the rest of the country has to be taken into account when considering the size of penalties.

A spokesman said: “In fact, penalties as a percentage of claim value are actually well below the national average. This is the only meaningful way to compare across different parts of the country.

“Furthermore, the analysis of the figures shows that penalties as a percentage of claim value are lower in north Tipperary than in south Tipperary – that is, both north and south Tipperary are lower than the national average and north Tipperary is lower than south Tipperary.”