Approximately 200 farmers mounted a protest outside the Department of Agriculture’s Nenagh Office earlier today. 15 of the group were subsequently involved in a sit-in, which is ongoing.

The demonstration has been organised by members of North Tipperary IFA.

“We are not leaving until we get a commitment from the Department that officials will meet us to discuss the high levels of inspection penalties given to farmers in this area,” said North Tipperary IFA Chairman Tim Cullinan.

“The current figures are stark. Annual cross compliance penalties imposed on North Tipp farmers are currently in the region of €1.28m. And we believe an additional figure, where land discrepancies are concerned, could be in the region of €1m.

We also know that 53% of farmers in this region receive fines and penalties, subsequent to inspection. The figure for the rest of the country is 39%.

Cullinan said that his group met with the Department’s Chief Inspector last September.

“It was confirmed that a higher rate of penalty notices had been imposed on farmers in North Tipp, compared with the rest of the country – up to 2005. But, subsequently, the situation was thought to have come more into line with the national average.

“However, I have recently gotten hold of figures which confirm that the opposite is, in fact, the case. This is an intolerable situation. We have asked for meetings with the Department’s inspectorate over recent weeks to discuss this matter. But we received no response, whatsoever.

We were then left with no option but to stage today’s protest. And we are not leaving the Department’s office until we get a date for a meeting to sort this matter out.

Responding, a Department of Agriculture spokesperson said: “Irish farming receives over €1.4 billion per annum in direct payments; the majority of this is from the EU Budget. Payments under various farm schemes are subject to compliance, by the beneficiaries, with the relevant EU regulations and the specific terms and conditions of the schemes.

“In accordance with the requirements of EU regulations, inspections are carried out at farm level by trained Department staff, to ensure compliance by the beneficiaries and consistency in the outcome.

“Selection of farms for inspection can be random or risk-based and many inspections are done by remote sensing, which does not require a visit. The Department strives to ensure that farm visits are kept to a minimum and, where possible, that a number of schemes are covered in one visit.

The spokesperson continued: “Where non-compliances are determined, a penalty may apply to payments in respect of the non-compliance on a sliding scale; the level of penalties is on average each year, quite small. The level of penalty varies across each county depending on land type, intensity of farming, etc.

“In the event of a penalty, the recipient has recourse to an internal Departmental review of the decision, should he or she wish to challenge the outcome of an inspection. This review would be carried out by a different official.

“Furthermore, the recipient can refer the matter to the Agricultural Appeals Office, who will carry out an independent review of any decision. Finally, the recipient can also refer the matter to the office of the Ombudsman – should he or she wish to challenge the decision of the Agricultural Appeals Office.”