‘Farm inspection failures a threat to water quality’, Cork council hears 

Farm-inspection failures must be reduced and water quality protected, Cork County Council has heard, with inspection compliance at only 53%. Social Democrats councillor Isobel Towse said non-compliance was “still too high”.

Cork County Council had 1,244 farm inspections scheduled for 2026, with 544 completed at the time of the report. Ms Towse said 39 of the non-compliances involved discharges that had the potential to affect water quality.

“A lot more needs to be done to help farmers to mitigate the impact of farming on water quality,” Ms Towse said and she welcomed the Better Farming for Water programme, but said more farmers needed to be involved.

The Teagasc campaign encourages farmers to protect water quality via better management of slurry, soiled water, and farmyards.

The Environmental Protection Agency found that 43% of 4,315 farms inspected by local authorities in 2025 were non-compliant with agricultural practice. The most common issues were poor control of soiled water, discharges that could affect water quality, and inadequate management of farmyard manure.

Fine Gael councillor John Michael Foley said farmers were working with Cork County Council and were increasingly aware of the requirements through Better Farming for Water. He said an inspection issue was not always a farmer’s fault, pointing to the impact that flooding and other unforeseen events could have on a farm.

Mr Foley said it was important that the council worked with farmers, rather than simply approach inspections as an enforcement exercise.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.