Farmer anger

Farmers react angrily to stringent fines

Claire Egan

MAYO farmers’ representatives have reacted angrily to last week’s announcement that they face up to €500,000 in fines and a year in prison if they pollute waterways with slurry.
Minister for the Environment John Gormley said that the fines will reflect the serious nature of the offence and were introduced in an effort to protect Ireland’s water against pollution from farming.
Speaking to The Mayo News, however, Chairman of the Mayo branch of the IFA, Mr Michael Biggins described the announcement by Environment Minister Mr John Gormley as ‘extremely unfair’.
“Farmers are as concerned about ensuring clean water as anyone else. However, it is completely unfair to single out farmers for special attention when the Minister knows that there are many more parties who are involved in pollution. In light of what we have seen in Galway, with the local authority completely responsible for the water crisis and indeed many more local authorities across the country failing to provide proper water and sewerage works, it is extremely unfair to single out the farming community. Why isn’t everyone being tarred with the same brush?” asked Mr Biggins.
A one-month jail term and a €3,000 fine was the penalty for polluting farmers in the past. However, under the new regulations farmers can now face up to a year in jail along with a fine of €500,000, as directed by the Circuit Court. Lesser offences will be punished by a District Court fine of €5,000 and a one-month jail term.
Mr Biggins said that farmers have invested heavily in the past number of years and cited the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS) as testament to the enormous efforts made by the farming community to enhance and preserve the environment. The Nitrates Directive, introduced last year, forced farmers to curb the overuse of fertilisers on farms and the amount of slurry that could be spread, with fines imposed for those who breached the directive.
“Farmers have invested enormously over the last number of years to ensure that they comply with pollution regulations. There are strict guidelines set down as to when you can spread slurry and that is adhered to and, overall, farmers are extremely conscious of pollution regulations. However, no matter what pollution problem there is, the finger is always pointed at the farming community. What we want is a level playing field,” said Mr Biggins.
A recent statement by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), highlighting farm slurries and fertilisers as one of the main sources of water pollution, along with human sewage from septic tanks, was also strongly contested by the Mayo IFA branch Chairman.
“As regards the fertilisers, the amount of phosphates has been reduced by over 60 per cent, while farmers are adhering to strict slurry-spreading deadlines. It has been found that many of the water and sewerage plants in our towns are completely inadequate. The Minister should ensure that he gets his own house in order before he goes focusing on the farming community,” concluded Mr Biggins.

Nitrates Directive
Nitrates are a major component of fertilisers, cited as a prominent cause of the pollution on many of Ireland’s waterways and in drinking water supplies.
The directive aimed to curb the overuse of fertilisers and set limits on when farmers could spread slurry.
The new fines are significantly higher than those imposed under the Nitrates regulations.

Reason for new fines
Minister John Gormley said that fines, under the original Nitrates regulations, were ‘disproportionately low and did not reflect the potential gravity of the offence or its seriousness. There will now be a more realistic range of fines which can be applied by the court.’