The Department of Agriculture has fined at least 20 farmers for failing to register their private water abstraction point with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Data obtained by the Irish Farmers Journal from the Department revealed that 48 farms were found to be non-compliant with the requirement in 2023, of which 41.7% incurred a sanction.

Under Statutory Management Requirement (SMR) 1, private water abstractions of 25m³ or more per day must be registered with the EPA.

Sanctions for conditionality can range from 1% to 100% and are applied to Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and other area-based CAP payments.

Although there is no available data on the number of penalties given to farms in 2024, one farmer reported to the Irish Farmers Journal that they received a penalty on their BISS payment in early January 2025 for not registering their private well.

Total registrations

In total, 415 water abstraction points relating to agriculture have been registered. However, it is estimated that every farm with 200 dairy cows or more that has a private water supply would be required to register.

According to data published by the Department, there were 1,062 farms in Ireland with over 200 dairy cows in June 2023.

In addition, a spokesperson for the Department said that some farms with fewer dairy cows may also need to register.

“While it is estimated that a farm with 200 dairy cows would typically use this volume of water on a daily basis, farms with fewer cows and/or other livestock, or enterprises, may also exceed the limit.

“This highlights the need for individual farmers to assess their individual water usage patterns and water sources before determining whether they need to register their private abstraction points with the EPA.”

Farmers can estimate their usage by completing the Quick Abstraction Volume Estimator which is on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website and register through the Environmental Data Exchange Network (EDEN) portal.

However, if all the water used on the farm is supplied from a non-private source, then registration is not required, the Department of Agriculture advised.