Commonage farmers in counties Mayo, Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim have been verbally warned that they face financial penalties after their land was burned during the closed period for burning.

IFA hill chair Pat Dunne told the Irish Farmers Journal that while no written notice of penalties has been received yet, farmers were told by local Department of Agriculture inspectors to “expect the big letter”.

He called for fair judgement in cases where farmers’ Basic Payments Scheme payments are held back as a result of their lands being deemed to have been burned.

“Unless the Department of Agriculture can prove who is responsible for land being burned, hill farmers should not be penalised. There must be due process that allows farmers to maintain their payments where fires damaged their land through no fault of their own.”

A spokesperson for the Department said it “continues to examine the eligibility of lands declared by a number of applicants under the Basic Payments Scheme.

“The Department is in direct contact with the applicants concerned.”

Meeting

The IFA has sought a meeting with the Department of Agriculture to discuss this issue.

In 2012, a group of almost 40 farmers, mainly from Wicklow, were penalised under cross-compliance rules for their land being burned during the closed period. However, they successfully appealed the penalty.