Ulster Unionist MLA, Robin Swann, has expressed his shock after it was revealed to him that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has been hit with a bill of over £2m by the HMRC for unpaid National Insurance contributions for private vets.

The North Antrim MLA said:

“Recently during a meeting of the Agriculture Committee at Stormont I was shocked to discover that the HMRC have now charged the Department £2.1m for National Insurance contributions for some private vets who have been undertaking TB testing on farms.

“It transpires that DARD had been paying invoices, including VAT, to a number of private vets for services provided, but now they have also indicated that on top of the monies already paid the Department must pay NI contributions and that all the VAT that has been paid is non-recoverable.

“This is money that the Department can ill afford and it is also concerning that the Minister had not highlighted this additional charge before now. It is clear that a serious mistake has been made somewhere along the line in regards to what the Department’s obligations were in paying for the services of private vets.

“Indeed, the only reason the Department has come to rely so heavily on the services of our local private vets is because it has wholly failed to tackle the blight of bovine TB across the countryside. On the very same week we were told further research and investigations are necessary, decisive actions still look some time away.

“As Executive Departments are all under financial pressure how exactly is DARD going to find the money to pay this bill? One idea that they should not even consider is passing the additional costs onto the farmer so I have already asked the Department for a commitment that this will not happen.”