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Midland Premier Farms Limited and its director William Murphy have been convicted and fined €5,000 collectively for putting in a drain. Mr Murphy was fined €2,000 plus costs and his farm company was fined €3,000.
The Irish Farmers Journal understands that Mr Murphy has appealed the case and continues to dispute his conviction. The appeal must be heard within the next six months.
The offence involved the contracting of an excavator machine operative to excavate a large drain leading from a wetland into the River Deel at Grangebeg, Raharney, Co Westmeath, in 2019.
Mr Murphy (40) and Midland Premier Farms Limited were convicted for the offence at a special sitting of the Mullingar District Court on 4 October.
The drain excavation was found to be in breach of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011-2021.
Legally protected
The River Deel is part of the legally protected River Boyne and River Blackwater special area of conservation and special protection area for birds.
According to the National Parks and Welfare Service (NPWS), these protections support important habitats and species which are rare and endangered across the EU, including “alluvial forest and alkaline fen, salmon, river lamprey, otters and kingfishers”.
At the special sitting of Mullingar District Court last week, judge John Brennan heard from an NPWS conservation ranger on the impact of the excavation works on the river’s habitat.
The ranger said that the drain could still carry nutrients and sediment to the River Deel, but because of the excavation work, there was now no buffer zone to protect the river from possible pollution from adjacent intensive farm land.
The ranger explained that sediment could interfere with fish spawning grounds and the habitat of aquatic invertebrates, which in turn support other species such as kingfisher and otter.
Deterrence
The judge was informed that the defendants, Mr Murphy and Midland Premier Farms Limited, were aware that the River Deel was in a special area of conservation but thought they would go ahead with the drainage works as they had machinery operating elsewhere on the lands at that time.
Judge Brennan told the court that there had to be a level of deterrence, as the regulations were there for a reason. He stated that there was still a risk to the river and that in considering sentence, the court had to take this fact into account.
Minister of State for Heritage Malcom Noonan TD said: “I would like to acknowledge the work and dedication of the NPWS staff involved in bringing this prosecution, and indeed the efforts of staff all around the country who successfully closed 26 prosecutions to date in 2022 and are progressing a further 43.
“I would again remind people that wildlife crime is a serious offence and the NPWS has never been more focused, or more effective, on tackling it.”
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