Tipperary farmers are still searching for a light to be shone on the Department of Agriculture’s inspection regime in the north of the county.

Three hundred farmers protested in March over longstanding local unrest surrounding inspections from the Nenagh office, covering north Tipperary and east Clare.

Attempts have been made on three occasions to have Department officials attend the Oireachtas agriculture committee to answer questions around why Tipperary has the highest level of both inspections and fines in the country.

ADVERTISEMENT

Tim Cullinan, North Tipperary IFA chair, says that farmers will not be deflected from seeking answers. “It’s essential that the inspection regime is equitable across the country –farmers are only asking for fair play,” he said.

Half of all inspections from 2009-2015 from Nenagh resulted in penalties, compared with the national average of one in three.

Penalty levels were also higher at €1,303 compared to an average of €808.

Read more

Listen: ‘I had a REPS inspection on the day my mother died’