Laois County Council will carry out a total of 134 on-farm inspections in 2025.

The target number of inspections has been increasing since 2022, with 101 farms set to be inspected across the county this year.

Laois County Council has been taking enforcement actions. However, these have been limited to advisory letters and section 12 notices, an audit carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows.

The EPA said that the full range of enforcement actions must be used in relation to farm inspections, including cross reporting of non-compliances to the Department of Agriculture.

Laois County Council confirmed during the audit that it plans to use cross reports, when appropriate, in 2024 now that the additional staff resource is in place.

Complaints

The audit report outlines a number of sample complaints received by the council this year, some of which were farming related.

One complainant alleged that slurry was flowing into a river in the county.

Laois County Council carried out a site visit on 15 April 2024 - the day the complaint was received.

It outlines that the farmer had spread slurry the day before heavy rainfall. The farmer in question was then instructed to block the surface flow pathway by the council.

A full inspection of the farm is planned under Good Agricultural Practice Regulations.