A Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North-West has warned that county council farm inspections are “far more intense” than for example those carried out by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) or Bord Bia.
Deputy Aindrias Moynihan told the Dáil that he is aware that Cork County Council “is conducting farm-by-farm inspections in the Castletown-Kinneigh and Coppeen area”.
He said inspections are currently being conducted on every farm “even though the expectation was only 5% would be inspected”.
Deputy Moynihan said: “Even a one-cow farm is being inspected. The inspections are being driven by water quality.
“Where pollution is identified and noncompliance, there are penalties and immediate action is expected to be taken”.
The Fianna Fáil TD said he agrees that “it is reasonable enough that immediate action would be taken if there is pollution”, but he also highlighted in the Dáil that “further along the very same riverbank, Dunmanway wastewater treatment plant is polluting the same water body”.
He said it was “very frustrating for farmers who find they are not being treated equally”.
“Why are all farms in the area being inspected one after the other and are all polluters, including Irish Water, going to be expected to take immediate action and upgrade?” Deputy Moynihan asked.
Inspections
In response to the the deputy the Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, confirmed that there is a “water action plan” which will likely lead to “more inspections as well as funding to increase the number of inspectors at local authority level”.
Minister Noonan added: “This is about retention of the nitrates derogation.
“It is critically important to this country and we all can agree on that here. It is also about improving our water quality and we have a significant challenge”.
The minister said he was “not sure about the inspection of very small holdings, but that is something we can look into”.
“I again encourage farmers to be involved in schemes that are out there to improve water quality.
“We all want to achieve good water quality and certainly it is in all our interest and the interest of farmers to retain the nitrates derogation,” Minister Noonan added.