Cork County Council’s latest environmental report has revealed that in the first six months of this year, there were 193 farm inspections carried out in West Cork. Of these, 96 were specifically National Agricultural Inspection Programme ones (NAIP), which are designed to protect water quality.
Non-compliance was found on the majority of these farms, with a 63% failure rate and 60 warning letters sent out as a result of the 96 NAIP inspections. Seven of these were also reported to the Department of Agriculture. Another 13 warning letters were sent in the Bandon-Kinsale district, out of 31 farms inspected under the NAIP.
The most common reason for non-compliance was the inadequate collection and storage of dirty water, followed closely by the inadequate management of manure. The inadequate storage and collection of slurry was another point of non-compliance, as was discharging in such a way that it could impact water quality. There was one instance of spreading slurry or contaminated water at the wrong time.
