A Co. Cork pig farmer has been fined thousands of euro as a result of the first prosecution by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2024.
The pig farmer, who was not identified by the EPA, pleaded guilty at Bandon District Court on January 4, 2024 to two offences.
These included that:
- On or about April 5, 2022 he did “carry on an activity within the meaning of Class 6.2 of the First Schedule of the EPA Act 1992” – which was “the rearing of pigs in an installation where the capacity exceeds 750 places for sows or 2000 places for production pigs which are over 30kg, in the absence of a licence or revised licence being in force”.
- On or about May 6, 2022 he did “carry on an activity within the meaning of Class 6.2 of the First Schedule of the EPA Act 1992″ – which the rearing of pigs in an installation where the capacity exceeds 750 places for sows or 2000 places for production pigs which are over 30kg, in the absence of a licence or revised licence being in force”.
Judge James McNulty convicted the pig farmer on both charges and imposed a fine of €3,000 for each offence.
Agency costs were also agreed.
Local authorities
Separately the EPA recently warned that local authorities must “prioritise environmental protection” to improve air and water quality and increase waste recycling
According to the agency local authorities “play a vital role in protecting our environment” and carried out over 197,000 environmental inspections in 2022.
But it also warned that more local authority farm inspections and “follow-up enforcement is needed to reduce the impact of agricultural activities on water quality”.
The EPA highlighted that while the number of local authority farm inspections increased during 2022, “the number is still too low”.
“More farm inspections and follow-up enforcement is needed to reduce the risk of agricultural activities negatively impacting on water quality and to drive compliance with the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) Regulations.
“The National Agricultural Inspection Programme, which commenced in 2022, sets out a risk-based approach to the targeting of inspections using the EPA’s Targeting Agricultural Measures Map.
“A priority for this winter (2023/2024) is that local authorities monitor that there is no spreading of soiled water, slurry or fertiliser on farmlands in the closed season or under unsuitable weather or soil conditions,” it added.