Farmers will have to fence off cattle from streams and rivers by 2021

Farmers will have to fence off cattle to prevent them accessing rivers and streams as part of new measures to improve water quality. 

A review by two government departments of a programme to ensure Ireland complies with the EU Nitrates Directive has recommended that farmers on more intensively stocked farms must take measures to prevent contact between cattle and water sources on their land from January 1, 2021.

The review of the Nitrates Action Programme by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government said the deadline would give farmers the chance to plan fencing off cattle from watercourses and provide livestock with other drinking water sources.