IFA President Francie Gorman has said that while a pledge to seek an independent review of the investigation of Dan Brennan’s farm is a step in the right direction, the terms of the review will be crucial to the success or otherwise of any re-evaluation of the case.

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue committed to look for a fresh review of the infamous case on the farm in Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny, during a Dáil discussion on the matter on Thursday.

He had been asked to do so by the Oireachtas agriculture committee which garnered cross-party support for re-opening the case. The committee published a report on the matter after it had heard evidence from some of those who had witnessed the events firsthand.

Evidence

This Oireachtas report noted that the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Agriculture and CRH – the successor to the company which operated the brick factory near Brennan’s farm – still supported the position that the farm had been satisfactorily investigated in the years up to 2010.

This initial investigation alleged that the anomalies in animal performance - ranging from chronic ill-thrift to bones growing in cattle’s soft tissues – were “multifactorial in source” and “that common infectious diseases were likely to have been responsible."

Dead vegetation with no explained cause on the farm of Dan Brennan in the mid-2000s.

It claimed that industrial emissions from a local brick factory were not the cause of these anomalies, despite Brennan showing that the best management advice offered by Teagasc and veterinary professionals could not rectify his herd’s issues.

The farm’s performance reverted to normal once the factory closed.

‘Positive step’

Minister McConalogue stated that all previous evidence, any new evidence to come to light and the Department of Agriculture’s handling of investigations would form part of the review he is to seek.

Francie Gorman was among the supporters of Brennan present in the Dáil gallery alongside the farmer when the minister gave the commitment.

“It is a positive step that the Minister has announced the review. I hope it will bring justice and closure for Dan Brennan and his family,” the IFA leader said.

“The former IFA president Padraig Walshe led a campaign on this case and he continued to pursue it until his untimely death last year. We look forward to seeing the terms of reference for this review.”

Oireachtas evidence

Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan also welcomed Minister McConalogue’s announcement that we will push for a fresh review into Brennan’s farm.

“We know from Mr Brennan's own testimony that over a 30-year period, beginning from approximately 1990, his cows were producing between 30% and 40% of the amount of milk that would be expected and that his cattle were extremely stunted and used to have a high mortality rate,” Nolan said.

“We also know, as the committees own report details, that experiments conducted at the time, including feeding tests involving animals from his farm being moved to other locations and animals from other locations being moved to his farm, supported his view that the problems on his farm were due to pollution.

"I share the view of many members of the agriculture committee that this case is a textbook example of how powerful interests and the failure of regulatory authorities can potentially combine to make the life of innocent famers an absolute torture over the course of decades.”

Nolan called for accountability from the agencies involved in the mid-2000s investigation, adding that “no farm family should ever have to go through what Mr Brennan and his family have gone through.”