The Department of Agriculture is examining farmers who are not drawing down a basic payment to assess whether they are abiding by water quality rules.

When asked by Roscommon-Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice this week if the Department is looking at these farmers, senior inspector at the Department Jack Nolan said: “We are looking at whether there are issues.”

Average

“Some farmers are saying that the average dairy farmer gets €20,000 in Basic Payment and is it worth their while to get that [payment] or get five extra cows if they’re being asked to store extra slurry and so on?

“So enforcement and implementation of these will be a major part of the revised River Basin Management Plan,” he said.