Tipperary councillors say farmers need more notice before inspections

At the recent Nenagh Municipal District meeting, Cllr Pamela Quirke O’Meara kicked off a discussion around the language used when communicating with farmers around upcoming inspections.

Her issue was mainly in the letter that is issued to farmers that notifies them of coming inspections.

Cllr Quirke O’Meara said: “I don’t think it’s fair or conducive to building positive relationships with famers, who are already under enormous pressure, to put them on standby for four weeks under the possibility of a farm inspection.

“No matter what way one looks at this it is intimidating for the farmers. On speaking to farmers over the past few months one of the primary issues that came up was mental health.

“According to CSO statistics ‘the age profile of farm holders has changed over the last 30 years, and there are now fewer farm holders under the age of 45 and considerably more aged 65 or over.’

“Taking this into consideration I think it is important to continue to maintain good relationships with our local farmers.

“The farmer’s that I have spoken to are doing their best to be compliant and are committed to playing their part in supporting measures to protect the environment.

“Farmers are under continuous pressure to move with a fast changing landscape especially around digitisation so we have to be sensitive to this.

“I believe a positive move would be in addition to highlighting the need to do an inspection over the course of four weeks, give farmers at least 24/ 48 hours notice of when the environment staff will be coming to carry out that inspection.

“This would go some way to maintaining good relationships and working with the farming community to build sustainable relationships.”

Cllr Michael O’Meara who is from a farming background himself, joined Cllr Quirke O’Meara in her sentiments.

“We need a collaborative approach to these inspections.

“These inspections should be seen as helping farmers to bring improvements to their ways of working, they should be viewed positively not as something to be weary of.”

Cllr Quirke O’Meara followed this saying: “Farmers aren’t giving out, they’re just saying these letters can be quite intimidating and that it would be nice if there was additional notice given.”

Cllr Joe Hannigan was last to speak on the issue: “It has to be disclosed when an inspector is arriving.

“As we know, farmers are very busy throughout the day and may not be there to even greet the inspector. You can’t just have an inspector walking onto someone’s land without them knowing about it. These inspections have to be appointments.”

This issue was brought up earlier this year at a Tipperary County Council meeting which saw a presentation from the IFA around their ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign which aimed to tackle the administrative burden placed on farmers across main Europe.

At the time Cllr Declan Burgerss, who is now Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council said: “Tipperary County Council is sadly adding an unnecessary burden to farmers in the area through an inconsistent approach to farm inspections.”

He added: “Farmers have no issue engaging with the Council, but it needs to be a fair, structured, and realistic form.”
The IFA have reportedly joined councillors in raising these same concerns in recent weeks.