Recent hikes to Uisce Éireann’s non-domestic water charges have hit farmers with fragmented land holdings the hardest, according to drystock farmer Micheál Geraghty.

Geraghty, from outside Loughrea, Co Galway, told the Irish Farmers Journal that farms like his are seeing an approximate doubling in their yearly bills on a comparable usage to before the new rates kicked in.

Uisce Éireann’s standing charge increased from €43 to €83 per connection from October, a rise of 93%, with the number of connections on fragmented farms a key driver of the hike in bills.

The per-unit cost of water was also upped from €1.87/m³ in September to €2.19/m³ for non-domestic and mixed-use customers from October.

Spread out

“It particularly affects me, as my farm is spread out over five divisions - the extra cost of the standing charges alone is €200 for me on top of the over €200 I was already paying,” he commented.

“There’s one farmer I have heard of in Clare with not that much land, but what he has is in 12 divisions. It really is the fragmented farms that are hit the hardest.”

Geraghty said that the hike is getting little attention from many TDs, as not all farmers are equally affected.

“I don’t know where in the world you would see an increase of over 90%. I find it extremely excessive, especially in drystock where the margins are quite limited.”