2 farms got '100% penalty' on BISS payments after refusing DAFM inspections
DAFM carries out a variety of farm inspections each year including those conducted on behalf of the local authorities under the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) for the Protection Waters Regulation.
In 2024, DAFM carried out 621 farm inspections on behalf of local authorities, during which it detected "regulatory breaches" in 157 farms.
These breaches led to penalties ranging from 1% to 25% of BISS payments for 116 farms and two farms that refused inspections received a 100% penalty on their BISS payments.
According to a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) the non-compliance rate in 2024 reported by DAFM following these inspections was 25% - down from 30% in 2023.
The EPA's National Agricultural Inspection Programme Summary Report for 2024 also highlights that most local authorities increased their farm inspection activity in 2024.
Following these inspections a total of 1,621 "corrective actions" were requested by localauthorities last year, chief among these were requests to "provide control measures for farmyard manure (FYM) runoff, repair or replace gutters/ downpipes, control silage effluent or divert to suitable storage, divert soiled water to suitable storage and move FYM storage to suitable location".
Further information was also requested by local authorities on 305 occasions - typically in relation to slurry collection and storage, control of soiled water, management of FYM and for discharges that could adversely impact water quality.
Source: EPA
The number of compliance letters issued to farm operators and landowners by local authorities rose sharply from 398 in 2023 to 1,484 in 2024.
Three prosecutions were initiated and a further one was concluded by local authorities in 2024 similar to 2023 when five prosecutions were reported.
According to the EPA Local authorities must "take a stronger enforcement approach to the implementation of the GAP Regulations".
The agency said this includes taking "appropriate enforcement actions and follow-up inspections to restore compliance".
It has also warned that "the EPA will continue to monitor how local authorities utilise their full range of enforcement powers".
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