Farm Inspections

Tuesday, 26 May 2026

Questions (891)

Carol Nolan

Question:

891. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farm inspections carried out in 2025 related to biodiversity compliance versus those for animal welfare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38968/26]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The information requested is not yet available but is currently being compiled. It will be forwarded to the Deputy directly as soon as it is finalised.

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Orders.

In relation to the various schemes my Department administers, on-farm Inspections are a requirement of the scheme’s terms and conditions and of the regulations that my Department has responsibility for.

In 2025 my Department carried out 4,745 farm inspections in relation to climate and biodiversity and 1,867 farm inspections for animal welfare.

Farm inspections related to climate and biodiversity includes Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) scheme inspections and Conditionality inspections that include inspections for Area 1 of Conditionality in relation to Climate and the Environment, including water, soil, and biodiversity of ecosystems. Conditionality inspections include checks on the 11 Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) and 9 Good Agricultural Environmental Condition (GAEC) standards. Area 1 includes all 9 of the GAEC standards and 4 SMRs that are required under EU Regulation.

Farm inspections related to animal welfare comprise of planned, risk based inspections, carried out to check compliance with EU and Irish national legislation as well as additional demand-led inspections carried out for example on foot of a welfare complaint or incidents reported. In addition, Area 3 Conditionality inspections are also conducted that include the 3 animal welfare SMRs as part of the overall Conditionality requirements.

Table: Inspection Numbers in 2025

DAFM Division	Climate and Biodiversity	Animal Welfare
Conditionality Inspections	2,071	1,112
Animal Welfare Inspections	-	755
ACRES Inspections	2,674	-
DAFM Total	4,745	1,867