Government commits to ‘robust’ fraud clampdown

Additional local authority staff are set to be enlisted to help tackle slurry export fraud, with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government committing to a ‘robust’ clamp down on the practice this year.

In a statement to the Farming Independent, the Department said “to address non-compliance” it allocated funding for an extra 21 local authority staff for the National Agricultural Inspection Programme (NAIP) in 2023 and further funding for additional staff in 2024.

“The resulting significant increase in inspections under the NAIP and tracking by the EPA will provide a robust evidence base to indicate the extent and nature of non-compliances under the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) regulations.”

A recent analysis by the Farming Independent revealed that some farmers have been exporting slurry between holdings ‘on paper’, but not in reality in order to meet stocking-rate limits imposed under the nitrates regulations.

Under the GAP regulations, which include regulation of slurry movement to prevent impact on water quality, local authorities are required to undertake inspections and enforcement activity including prosecutions.

Penalty

Local authorities can also cross-report non-compliances to the Department of Agriculture and this may result in a penalty on a farm’s EU payments in addition to prosecution by the local authority.

A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture said: “DAFM, the Nitrates Expert Group and the Agriculture Water Quality Working Group have all identified the need for better compliance and enforcement regarding the movement of livestock manures between holdings.

“As part of the interim review of the Nitrates Action Programme, the Nitrates Expert Group have recommended that landowners should be required to report slurry movements closer to real time, allowing Local Authorities undertake inspections to verify these movements have taken place.”

In a statement to the Farming Independent, the EPA said: “The inappropriate storage, handling or landspreading of manures can pose a risk to water quality and it is essential that there is full compliance with the GAP regulations to help protect and restore water quality in Ireland.”

CEO of the Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), Sinéad O’Brien, called for and end to this breach in water protection rules.

‘Soft-touch’

“This lack of enforcement and ‘softtouch’ regulation has led to a situation where a significant number of farmers feel free to flout the rules, without needing to worry much about being caught,” she said.

“This is not bureaucracy for the sake of it: improper and fraudulent management of slurry is linked to declines in water quality, so it is unfortunate that, rather than calling this out as illegal and strongly advising farmers against it, some farm advisors appear to be facilitating it.”

Dr Elaine McGoff, Head of Advocacy with An Taisce, said: “It’s widely acknowledged that compliance with the nitrates regulations is poor, and that enforcement and inspections are lacking, and this is a particular problem when it comes to slurry spreading and export.

“But the reaction from authorities seems to be gentle encouragement to do better, as opposed to condemnation that the laws are being routinely broken, and Teagasc appear to be suggesting that farm advisors are openly facilitating that fraudulence.”

She added that this lenience is doing the agri-business sector a disservice.

IFA and ICMSA did not comment when asked if there is a need for the greater enforcement of regulations surrounding the export of slurry.