Farmers lost close to €5m in Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) penalties in 2015. Almost 9,500 farmers were inspected in 2015 with 43% of those incurring a penalty.

Fines for cross-compliance breaches such as animal movements, welfare and having land in good agricultural environmental condition amounted to €2.5m. Meanwhile, land eligibility issues cost farmers nearly €0.5m.

A staggering one in three penalties were incurred due to breaches of the stocking rate limit, which resulted in a total sum of €1.9m in penalties.

More than 1,600 farmers exceeded the 170kg N/ha limit, receiving an average fine of €1,157.19.

The vast majority of land eligibility inspections are completed remotely, using satellite technology. Only 12% of eligibility inspections are on the ground. Overall, 2015 penalties were 8% lower than in 2014 despite the transition from the Single Farm Payment to the BPS.

With the yellow card system now in place, these figures may fall again.

Unfair inspections

Deputy IFA president Richard Kennedy said the average penalty for cross compliance in 2015 was just over €1,000, which represents a cut of 10% to the average Basic Payment.

At a recent meeting of the Charter of Rights,Kennedy said inspections "cannot hold up payments and if there are issues with farmers’ files, they should be sorted out after the payment".

Kennedy called on the the Department to "publish a county-by-county breakdown to give farmers the full impact of inspections and penalties in each area".

Penalties cost farmers €5m in 2015

Almost 9,500 farmers were inspected in 2015, with 43% of those incurring a penalty.