Farmers in Northern Ireland who claimed for sheep they did not have during the foot-and-mouth crisis will be prosecuted, Stormont Minister of Agriculture Ms Bríd Rodgers said today.
Ms Rodgers accused farmers of a "betrayal in trust" as she revealed huge discrepancies between numbers submitted for an annual premium scheme and actual flock sizes.
Although there have been four confirmed outbreaks of the virus in the North since the outbreak began, most of the false claims centred in the South Armagh area.
Of the 93 farmers who claimed sheep annual premiums, 58 had fewer than required to meet their quota, and 16 of these had no sheep at all. The total shortfall in the area amounted to 3,187 sheep.
Mrs Rodgers warned: "Those who cannot satisfactorily explain the shortfall in sheep numbers will be subject to penalties or full disallowance in accordance with the rules of the scheme and some may also face prosecution if there is evidence of fraud."
The figures relate to subsidy claims in the three areas where animal culls occurred: South Armagh; Ardboe, Co Tyrone; and Cushendall, Co Antrim.
With £15 paid out on every sheep claimed for, the South Armagh shortfall would have cost the system around £45,000.
PA