Farmers who are not registered with the Department of Agriculture as qualified sprayer operators or who use an uncertified sprayer will not be liable for cross-compliance sanctions, the Department of Agriculture has confirmed.

In a cross-compliance inspection, farmers who do not have a PU number or who have an uncertified sprayer will not receive a cross-compliance sanction, a spokesman confirmed.

Instead, the details will be noted by the inspecting officer and will be cross-reported to the pesticides control division of the Department.

“In instances where there is non-compliance with the relevant legislation, farmers may receive a fixed penalty notice of €250 or, on summary conviction, a Class A fine,” a Department spokesperson confirmed.

Certified sprayers

Figures on the number of farmers who have gained a PU number and the number of sprayers that have been certified to date are not yet available.

Under the Sustainable Use Directive, all boom sprayers greater than 3m in width and orchard/blast sprayers had to be tested and certified by 26 November 2016.

Sprayers must comply with the EN standards for application and safety. It is estimated that this rule affects between 30,000 and 40,000 tractor-mounted or trailed sprayers in the country, as well as a small number of self-propelled machines.