Water charges threaten farmers

FARMERS will be driven out of business by the water-pricing policies being pursued by the Department of the Environment and local authorities, say the IFA.

Connacht vice-president Michael Silke said farmers don’t have the opportunity to recoup any of these excessive charges from the market place.Farmers support the conservation of water, but at a time when their input costs have risen by over 30% in the last seven years, they cannot remain viable while paying up to almost €6 per thousand gallons for water,” he said.