A new €60 million water quality project has been announced with the aim of supporting up to 15,000 farmers nationally to put in place measures to improve water quality.
Depending on uptake, support for individual farmers could potentially hit €10,000.
The Farming for Water project is a European Innovation Partnership (EIP), the largest one ever carried out in Ireland.
The Local Authority Water Programme (LAWPRO), in partnership with Teagasc and Dairy Industry Ireland (DII), were successful in a competitive call for an EIP under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 and Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has allocated a budget of €50 million over five years, which will cover the support to be paid to the up to 15,000 farmers.
Outside of the funding for farmers, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will put up €10 million to cover the he administrative and operational costs of this Water EIP, which will also be allocated over five years, bringing the total budget for the project to €60 million.
An operational group has been established by the LAWPRO in partnership with Teagasc, DII and Bord Bia, and with the support of other stakeholders, to work in partnership with farmers in the implementation of a number of actions at farm level.
Water quality
Speaking at the launch of the EIP in Co. Westmeath today, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue said: “This is an exciting project…focusing on improving water quality and everyone in the country.
“The future of our farms, and the families on those farms, are largely dependent on successful water quality outcomes and I am absolutely confident farmers will not be found wanting in delivering those outcomes,” he added.
Also speaking at the launch of the project, Minister of State for land use and biodiversity Pippa Hackett called the project a “flagship” EIP.
“This is our largest EIP to date, both in terms of funding and in its ambition in relation to the role that agriculture can play in improving water quality and, by extension, the benefits for nature and biodiversity that will accrue as a result.”
Project collaborator Dairy Industry Ireland (DII) welcomed the project, saying it would accessible to all farm types.
Pat Sheahan, chair of DII, said: “This program, supplemented by additional industry funding and support, underscores our commitment to Ireland’s water quality objectives.
“We will collaborate closely with our dairy farm family suppliers and other stakeholders who have a strong track record in this area.”