Ninety commonage farmers have submitted sworn affadavits to the Department of Agriculture saying they had no hand, act or part in their land being illegally burned.

The affadavits were delivered by the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) at a meeting with Department of Agriculture officials on Monday. The farmers, mainly from Achill in Co Mayo, are among the 160 farmers who received over-claim letters from the Department. Farmers in Kerry, Inishowen, Co Donegal, and Connemara, Co Galway, have also received over-claim letters.

Some farmers face the prospect of losing their entire BPS payment if their over-claim is more than 20% of the total land they submitted.

INHFA president Colm O’Donnell said it believes the Department breached the Charter of Farmer Rights by not telling the affected farmers about land eligibility problems before 15 September.

“If they had not been told of any problem before 15 September, they had a legitimate expectation that they were cleared for payment,” insisted O’Donnell.

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Commonages ‘obliterated’ by burned land penalties

Farming on a hill on the periphery of Europe