A new agreement for compensation and goodwill payments to landowners has been agreed between the IFA, ESB and Eirgrid for the placing of new 110 kilovolt (kV) and 220kV overhead electric lines on their lands.

The new agreement will see landowners receive up to €29,500 for new masts on their lands, up to €14,750 for polesets and €20,750 for stayed polesets.

Qualifying landowners will receive compensation in three stage payments:

The additional goodwill payment is calculated as 10% of the total compensation payments with a minimum of €5,000 and a maximum of €10,000 per landowner, the IFA said.

In addition to the compensation and goodwill payments, any land damage and crop loss caused as a result of the works will be reinstated by the ESB or compensated for in accordance with the ESB/IFA code of practice.

Option

IFA president Tim Cullinan said the agreement provides farmers impacted by new 110/220kV electric lines on their lands with an option other than the arbitration route, which can be time consuming, costly and uncertain.

The IFA said the farmer’s statutory rights are fully protected.

Arbitration

Even if they choose to accept the payments negotiated by IFA, they still have the option of going to arbitration.

“As part of this agreement, the ESB will continue to apply the ESB/IFA code of practice, which is very important in terms of the rights of landowners and in respect of land damage and crop loss,” he added.

Negotiating team

IFA’s negotiating team for each project comprises four farmers and a lead negotiator appointed by the IFA president. These teams have access to all necessary advice including legal advice and it has been agreed that ESB/EirGrid will contribute towards costs incurred by the IFA during the negotiations.

Two other negotiations are currently under way in relation to payments for infrastructure passing over forestry and the refurbishing and uprating of 110/220kV lines.