Notice of inspection demanded

LETTERS the next day, or phone calls the night before, were the only notifications some farmers got of Department of Agriculture inspectors arriving to check their compliance with REPS and other schemes.

The increase in part time farming and the uncertainty of postal deliveries have rendered current arrangements for notification of inspections unacceptable to farmers, according to Gerard Gunning, Executive Secretary, IFA Rural Development Committee.

Farmers have made a better notification system one of their priorities in the upcoming review of the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS).