In 2025, around 17% of hens were situated in the five largest egg production operations in Ireland.

In total, there were 288 farms in commercial egg production in the country last year, figures from Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon show.

188 of these were free range, with maximum bird places of around 1.9 million.

40 were organic with 142,961 maximum bird places.

30 were barn with 1.1 million bird places and 30 were enriched caged with 1.06 million places.

Minister Heydon was responding to parliamentary questions from Green Party TD Roderic O'Gorman.

Beak-trimming

Deputy O'Gorman also asked the minister if the practice of beak-trimming is used on commercial egg farms in Ireland.

Minister Heydon said there is "detailed" EU and Irish legislation on the protection of laying hens.

This sets out a number of requirements for the housing and management of table egg layers.

"The legislation allows for beak-trimming of birds, under certain conditions, to prevent feather pecking," the minister explained.

"The practice of beak-trimming is not carried out on commercial egg farms in Ireland because birds for this sector are imported as day old chicks from Great Britain where beak trimming has already been carried out on the birds prior to their arrival here.

"Only organic egg layer flocks have a no-beak trimming policy because this is a specific requirement of the EU organic legislation."