Council report indicates six out of ten farmers in Tipperary are not complaint in regard to water quality protection

Over six out of every ten farmers in Tipperary whose holdings were inspected by Tipperary County Council were non-compliant regarding water quality protection standards, according to a report presented to the September meeting of the Nenagh Municipal District.

Under the heading ‘Water Quality and Agricultural Activities,’ the environment report by the council said that of 145 farm inspections it carried out in 11 river catchments in the county this year, 94 farmers were issued with warning letters where non-compliance was found. “This equates to an average non-compliance rate of 62% across the 11 catchments,” the report stated.

Meanwhile, Cllr Pamela Quirke O’ Meara said farmers in the Nenagh area should be given adequate notice of when council environment protection inspectors were going to visit their holdings.

Cllr Quirke O’ Meara said some farmers had raised concerns with her over the language in the letters from the council giving farmers notice that an inspection was pending.

Members were told by Michael Moroney, senior executive officer in the council’s environment section, that the council has increased the number of scientists it employed who were working on environmental control on farms.

Mr Moroney said the council was obliged to carry out up to 260 farm inspections a year under a target set for it by the Environment Protection Agency. It had to set out recommendations to farmers following inspections when it was deemed necessary to protect waterways.

Cllr Quirke O’ Meara said the council needed to be more open with farmers in respect of the exact dates that inspectors were actually due to visit holdings.

Cllr Joe Hannigan said the council should inform farmers a few days in advance of any inspection.

Cllr John Carroll said council management had previously given a commitment that farmers would be made aware of the date of an inspection. “I think that is very important.”