The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has confirmed that it is seeking a judicial review over DAERA’s decision not to change the classification of a cross-compliance breach by former UFU president Ian Marshall.

This follows a previous judicial review between the two parties surrounding the incident which was heard in the High Court in Belfast last September and ruled in favour of the union in February.

As exclusively reported in this week’s Irish Farmers Journal, DAERA is refusing to pay around £70,000 of the UFU’s legal fees from the case as well as change the decision on Marshall’s cross-compliance breach and reimburse him around £60,000 from a Single Farm Payment penalty.

“We are prepared to spend whatever it takes to challenge this grossly unfair decision. Despite comprehensively losing the first JR, and seeing their decision making declared unlawful by a judge, it seems DAERA is happy to gamble again with public money,” UFU chief executive Wesley Aston said on Thursday.

Pollution

The case relates to a pollution incident on Marshall’s farm in 2011 in which DAERA deemed the cross-compliance breach as intentional and imposed a 55% Single Farm Payment penalty. The UFU argues that it was a negligent breach which would bring a penalty of between 1% and 5%.

The first judicial review concluded that DAERA’s decision was “unlawful” and that a review of the decision should take place. DAERA is now standing by its decision to define the breach as intentional and the UFU has said that this is the basis of the second judicial review.

“DAERA seems more concerned about falling foul of the European Commission over a minor error by a farmer than it is about wasting taxpayers’ money on a fresh legal case,” said Aston.

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DAERA refuses to review penalties