Department of Agriculture told to get to grips with fraudsters

A huge increase in compensation payouts to farmers with brucellosis-infected cattle in Northern Ireland has been criticised by a Stormont Assembly committee.

In a report published on Tuesday, January 29, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it was greatly concerned at the increased compensation payments for brucellosis-infected herds which have risen over the past five years from £200,000 in 1996 to £22.5 million in 2001.

The committee chaired by Billy Bell said the committee was very concerned over evidence that some farmers were deliberately infecting their herds.

In the report the committee said evidence, discovered by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in five cases where farmers deliberately introduced the disease to take advantage of the compensation on offer, was cause for great concern.

The PAC report states the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development must get to grips with the situation and that there must be "no acceptable level of fraud".

PAC chairman Billy Bell, said he was also greatly concerned at the increased value that was placed on infected herds. In one example, a herd previously priced at £375,00 by DARD was raised to £1.4 million on appeal. A subsequent re-evaluation of the herd then reduced this £275,00.

"Clearly there are serious shortcomings within the compensation and appeals system which need to be addressed, " Mr Bell added. "It is wholly unacceptable, given the many demands on scarce public funds, that the Department has to waste such large sums on unproductive compensation payments.

However, DARD has rejected criticism by the assembly's public accounts committee of its handling of brucellosis.

Agriculture minister Bríd Rodgers said the department was tackling the threat of brucellosis rigorously and had zero tolerance of fraud.

Brucellosis is a highly infectious disease which causes cows to abort. It also poses a risk to people working with cattle, leading to recurring bouts of fever. (AMcE)