A social media clip showing slurry being sprayed into a field from a public road has been widely condemned.

The clip, allegedly filmed earlier this week in Co Clare, shows a tractor and slurry tanker with a rain gun attachment, with slurry being sprayed into a field adjacent to the road.

The clip has been roundly condemned by farmers and environmentalists alike on social media as illegal and bad environmental practice, with all urging for the clip to be reported to the authorities.

This type of application is banned for over a decade at least

One senior Department of Agriculture official took to social media to reinforce the point that spreading slurry in that manner is illegal under nitrates regulations and should be reported to local authorities for prosecution. Local authorities would then cross-report to the Department of Agriculture for penalties to be applied to farm payments.

“This type of application is banned for over a decade at least,” the official outlined.

The use of rain guns, more correctly known as sludge irrigators, has been prohibited since 2006. The spreading of organic fertilisers or soiled water from a road or passageway, even within a farm, is also not allowed.

Penalty

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that breaches of cross-compliance rules can extend from a penalty of 20% up to 100% of a farmer’s farm payments where the breach is found to be deliberate and serious.

Even more punitive penalties can be applied if the offence is repeated.