Uisce Éireann has agreed a voluntary compensation package will be offered to farmers impacted by the planned river Shannon-Dublin pipeline having stuck a deal with the IFA and the ICMSA on Wednesday.

The package offers affected farmers payments for five areas associated with the project: early sign-on payments, wayleave payments, crop-loss/land-disturbance payments, goodwill payments and additional compensation for those whose lands will see ancillary apparatus installed.

Those wishing to accept the offer negotiated by the IFA and ICMSA must return consent forms to Uisce Éireann by 7 October.

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Farmers who do not wish to accept can instead pursue their claim for compensation through the relevant statutory processes. The deal agreed with the IFA and ICMSA will see payments not made up front, including the crop loss and disturbance payments, linked to inflation, as the goodwill payment will be from 2030.

Clarity

The farming organisations have said that clarity is awaited on the tax treatment of some payments and advice has been sought, particularly around the tax treatment of payments to non-VAT registered farmers.

Farmers along the route are impacted by a 20m wide wayleave corridor on their land after construction, with a 50m wide corridor will be required during the construction phase.

While normal agricultural use along these corridors will be permitted “outside of the construction period”, wayleave development restrictions will apply during the pre-planning and construction phases.