West Cork farmer pleads guilty to 'industrial-scale excavation' of riverbank

Judge asks solicitor representing accused if he would volunteer to write an article for publications, including the Irish Examiner's Farming section, about the case, advising farmers of their environmental responsibilities 'as a service to your client and the nation'

The court was told the changes to the riverbed as a result of the excavation would have an impact on salmon spawning.

The solicitor representing a man who pleaded guilty to what a judge described as "industrial-scale excavation" of a riverbank has been asked to write for a number of publications advising farmers of their environmental responsibilities.

Ian Harrington of Lackareagh, Kealkill, near Bantry in Co Cork, pleaded guilty to two charges brought by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) relating to an incident on a tributary of the River Ouvane last year.