Over 50% of farms inspected in Waterford found to be non-compliant
Councillors at the September sitting of Comeragh District Council were told that there is support available for those farmers. Stock Image
Over 50% of farms inspected are found to be non-compliant.
That is according to Senior Executive Officer in the Environment Section, Dawn Wallace, at the September sitting of the Comeragh district council.
Ms Wallace was responding to Seanie Power, who said he wished to highlight the good work farmers do in upgrading and maintaining their farms and ask that they are given notice before an inspection.
“We do have just over 50% non-compliance in farming inspections in this county, which is higher than any of the other counties. We are all using the same measures, so it's worth bearing that in mind.
“And you know, over 50% are non-compliant, but that means almost 50% are, so we have to balance that in relation to the good work our farming community is doing,” responded Ms Wallace.
Ms Wallace said that notice is given to farmers for planned inspections and they are carried out in the most high-risk areas.
However, if a complaint is made, an unplanned inspection would need to be carried out to investigate and the farmer in this case would not be notified.
“Where issues are identified, the farmer is notified, and there are Teagasc advisors out there to support the farming community in putting things right.
“We don’t just throw a big book at people,” said Ms Wallace.
She said that the time given to allow a farmer to put things right depends on the level of risk the issue presents.
“Our inspectors work closely with those farmers. The key to making the inspection process work is building relationships with those communities,” said Ms Wallace.
