³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

An award-winning cattle farmer whose herd was slaughtered after a Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) outbreak has secured permission for a High Court challenge to his 16-year compensation wait.

If successful, it is believed the case could be worth millions of pounds to others similarly affected.

The County Fermanagh man was granted leave to seek a judicial review over a failure to award annual interest.

The herd was slaughtered in 2007 as part of efforts to eradicate bTB.

It was seized by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera).

When animals are seized in this way, farmers are entitled to compensation under a statutory scheme which involves assessing the animals' market value.

The farmer was dissatisfied with the proposed payment and opted to have an independent valuer appointed.

The department disputed the resulting valuation and exercised its right to appeal to a three-person panel.

That appeal has yet to be fully completed.

But according to court papers, the farmer was awarded an additional £21,000 for one tranche of his animals, based on market value in 2007.

He claims Daera has wrongly failed to pay any interest on the figure reached by the appeal panel.

Based on standard rates over the 16-year period, his lawyers claim that award could be worth nearly four times as much.

They also insist the higher compensation assessment of the independent valuer should have been paid out before the department mounted an appeal.

With more than 200 animals in the herd still to be valued, the difference in estimations of their worth is said to be more than £1.1m.

The case has been listed for hearing in November.

Speaking outside court, the farmer's solicitor, Patrick Higgins of Donnelly & Wall, welcomed the ruling and stressed its wider significance.

Mr Higgins said: "This case will potentially affect many other farmers throughout Northern Ireland experiencing the same frustrations and financial hardship awaiting their appeals being heard by the independent appeals panel, including Single Farm Payment Appeals, Environmental Farming Scheme Appeals and Tuberculosis Appeals."