Majority of councils miss farm inspection targets vital for water protection

The Journal

28-05-2025

MORE THAN HALF of local authorities failed to meet farm inspection targets for slurry spreading and management,
The Journal Investigates
can reveal.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set targets for local authorities in 2024 with the aim of increasing the number of inspections carried out on farms and protecting water bodies from agricultural run-off.
However, our investigative team has found that 15 councils failed to hit the targets set for them by the EPA, more than half of the 28 local authorities included in the targets.
The Journal Investigates
obtained farm inspection figures from each local authority environmental department around the same time these figures were reported to the EPA. The EPA is due to publish a report on this towards the end of the year.
Seven councils also conducted less than 50% of their target inspections, highlighting a significant level of non-compliance among local authorities.
The EPA did not specifically respond to questions on whether local authorities will face sanctions for not meeting these targets.
A spokesperson did say that local authority performance is monitored by the agency through 'ongoing compliance meetings and audits'.
An investigation by
The Journal Investigates
last year found
a serious lack of farm inspections taking place
in the years prior to the targets being set.
The arrival of these targets meant a majority of councils were faced with having to more than double their farm inspections in 2024, with the increase required to meet EPA targets in some areas surpassing 600%. Two local authorities also had to increase their inspections tenfold to reach targets.
Our investigation last September also revealed that councils were falling behind in their inspection programmes.
These new figures show that many of these councils weren't able to catch up in the final few months of last year, missing their inspection targets.
Inspections needed to protect water bodies
Targets for farm inspections were set by the EPA for the first time in 2024 as part of the National Agricultural Inspection Programme.
The programme aims to protect water quality from agricultural activities and allocates a specified number of inspections to each local authority.
Though slurry – an organic manure made of livestock animal refuse – is essential to farm productivity, it contributes significantly to ammonia, nitrous oxide and methane emissions.
Irresponsible spreading of slurry has also led to considerable water pollution and biodiversity loss.
These inspections are focused in areas where water bodies are significantly impacted by agriculture.
A target of 3,346 farm inspections was set by the EPA for 2024, divided across 28 local authorities.
However, just 2,810 inspections were completed last year, leaving councils almost 20% short of the target.
A number of councils also inspected more farms than they were required to, making up for some of the shortfalls elsewhere.
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Cork County Council completed 120 additional inspections beyond their EPA target. Elsewhere, Carlow and Monaghan County Councils both carried out an additional 32 farm inspections.
Despite this overperformance from a few local authorities, Sinéad O'Brien, CEO of the Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) – an umbrella network of 25 environmental NGOs – told
The Journal Investigates
the fact that more than half missed their targets was 'extremely worrying'.
Sinéad O'Brien, CEO of the Sustainable Water Network (SWAN)
SWAN
SWAN
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She added that these inspections served as a pillar of the Nitrates Action Programme, a government initiative to prevent water pollution from agricultural sources.
'It's concerning', she said, that many 'local authorities aren't carrying out their duties' in relation to carrying out the necessary farm inspections.
The target for 2025 has increased to 4,500 inspections, meaning those local authorities who failed to hit targets this year will have to significantly ramp up their productivity if they are to meet these targets.
In 2023, Ireland's ammonia emissions decreased by 4% in 2023 due to increased use of low-emission slurry spreading on farms and a reduction in nitrogen fertiliser use.
This brings Ireland into compliance with the EU target for ammonia, the EPA said.
However, ecologist Pádraic Fogarty told our team last year that while low-emission slurry spreading is better for ammonia emissions, 'it's worse for water quality', he said.
In the report on environmental enforcement performance of local authorities in 2023, the EPA also found that farm inspections were still far below the level required.
Poor local authority performance
Of the 15 councils that failed to hit their targets last year, many didn't even come close.
Leitrim County Council was one such local authority. It completed just 11% of its allocated target of 46, inspecting just five farms.
Just one of these farms passed on the first visit. The other four were sent warning letters and passed on the second inspection, the council said.
A spokesperson for Leitrim County Council said it 'did not meet its agricultural inspection targets in 2024 due to staff movements resulting in a shortage of staff resources within the Water Environment Team'.
They added that recent appointments 'mean that sufficient resources are now in place to meet our 2025 target'. The council has been allocated a target of 79 farm inspections this year.
Limerick City and County Council also did not come close, completing just 27% of its target – 44 of 161 – for new farm inspections last year.
In previous years, the council has completed a huge number of farm inspections. In 2023, they completed 404 inspections, and in 2022, they completed 650.
A spokesperson for the council told
The Journal Investigates
the reason for the drop in the number of inspections was because they were 'concentrating on closing out open files and ensuring that these farmers are compliant with the GAP Regulations'.
In addition to 44 new inspections last year, '159 existing open file farm inspections were undertaken', the spokesperson said.
They added that additional scientists were being hired to concentrate on achieving the new inspection targets moving forward.
Related Reads
Tenfold increase in farm inspections needed by some councils to meet EPA targets this year
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (DLR) County Council completed just two farm inspections during 2024. The council had been allocated a target of 27 inspections, meaning it completed just 7% – the lowest proportion of any council.
In both inspections, there was no slurry stored at the site meaning the council did not inspect any farms that store slurry in 2024.
A spokesperson for the council told
The Journal Investigates
that DLR County Council does not have the resources to complete these inspections.
They said that a shared resource between DLR, South Dublin County Council and Dublin City Council will be employed to meet the required inspections across all councils, but that this resource is not yet in place.
South Dublin County Council completed more than their required inspections in 2024, while the EPA did not require Dublin City Council to undertake any farm inspections.
The spokesperson for DLR County Council also said that the EPA has reduced their inspection target for 2025 from 44 to 12 farms.
They added: 'We intend to carry out these inspections during 2025, using our own resources until the shared resource is available.'
O'Brien said that the risk in urban areas like DLR is not as significant, but said 'I'd be a lot more concerned about Leitrim and Limerick'.
'They have quite intensive agriculture in Limerick, and it's very important that they keep on top of their inspections,' she added.
High levels of non-compliance
For the counties in the southeast of the country, not only were inspection targets not met, but a significant level of non-compliance was found at the farms that were inspected.
In Waterford, the local authority completed just 60% of its target inspections set by the EPA.
The council said that in three quarters of the inspections they did carry out, some level of non-compliance with the regulations was found.
A spokesperson for Waterford City and County Council said that just one inspector was employed at the council for these inspections for most of 2024. A second inspector was hired in September.
O'Brien told
The Journal Investigates
the number of inspections in Waterford was 'particularly concerning', adding that the county has 'some of the highest levels of intensification of dairy in Ireland'.
This makes it a high-risk area for water pollution, she said.
This trend was repeated across Wicklow and Wexford County Councils, which completed just 48% and 83% of their inspection target in 2024, respectively.
Breaches of the regulations were found in 65% of the farms inspected by Wicklow County Council. In Wexford, 41% of the farms inspected were found to have breaches in the regulations.
Both councils said that all farms deemed non-compliant received a compliance letter, while a small number were reported to the Department of Agriculture for further review.
When asked why they had failed to reach the targets set for 2024, spokespeople for Wicklow and Wexford councils cited staffing constraints as the main reason.
A farmer spreading slurry in a field.
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
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Staff recruitment an issue
A lack of staff was cited by numerous local authorities as the reason why they did not reach the inspection targets set by the EPA.
A number of councils reported not having any dedicated staff for these inspections, significantly hampering their ability to meet the required targets.
The Department of Housing has provided funding to local councils for an additional 57 inspectors to undertake these inspections.
A spokesperson said last year: 'It is the responsibility of each Local Authority to ensure the resources are in place to ensure that the EPA targets are being met.'
Figures provided by the County and City Management Association (CCMA) shows that as of May 2025, 50 inspectors have been hired by local authorities for these farm inspections – seven short the Department has provided funding for.
A spokesperson for the CCMA told
The Journal Investigates
that 'recruitment is a matter for each local authority'.
However, even though this funding has been provided, some local authorities are struggling to fill positions.
A spokesperson for Sligo County Council told
The Journal Investigates
that even though interviews were held in 2024 to 'appoint an Assistant Scientist, the Council was unable to fill the post'.
Fingal County Council also said that they 'were unable to find a suitably qualified person' to fill the role in 2024, while Kerry County Council added that 'recruitment of staff to carry out these inspections has proved challenging'.
It's understood that sufficient staff are now in place in each of those local authorities, but with the number of inspections increasing for 2025, further recruitment issues may arise.
In Mayo, a panel has been established to fill vacant Agricultural Inspector positions, a spokesperson for the council said. They added that 'the recruitment and retention of Agricultural Inspector staff is the main challenge being encountered in meeting the inspection targets.'
A spokesperson for the Department of Housing acknowledged that some local authorities 'have encountered difficulty with recruitment and retention'.
Asked whether there would be any sanctions against local authorities who failed to meet their targets, a spokesperson for the EPA did not specifically respond.
However, they did say that local authority performance of their environmental responsibilities, including these agricultural inspections, is monitored by the agency through 'ongoing compliance meetings and audits'.
Sinéad O'Brien, CEO of SWAN, said that sanctions against local authorities in the first year of the inspection programme 'wouldn't be my first priority', adding that a lot of pressure had been placed on councils, particularly around staffing resources.
However, she said that gradual improvements 'isn't good enough' and called on the EPA to enforce a 'zero tolerance policy' from 2025.
'This has gone on for long enough. Agriculture is the main source of water pollution in Ireland, and they need to show willingness and start doing something to fix it,' she added.
'The very least they can do is have an effective inspection enforcement program.'
The Journal Investigates
Reporter:
Conor O'Carroll
• Editor:
Maria Delaney
• Social Media:
Cliodhna Travers
• Main Image Design:
Lorcan O'Reilly
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