Uisce Éireann has reached agreement with the Irish Farmers Association and the Irish Creamery Milk Supplies Association on a voluntary wayleave compensation package for farmers and landowners along the route of the underground pipeline it wants to lay to take water from the River Shannon to Dublin.
This follows months of negotiation and marks a significant milestone for the Water Supply Project.
The package includes upfront compensation payments for the owners of land that will be affected by the development.
Uisce Éireann said in a statement that the package reflects the scale and strategic importance of the project and aims to mitigate the impact of construction and operation on agricultural land.
The public utility company is engaging directly with landowners on the compensation package.
In July, it issued a wayleave package to over 500 landowners along the proposed pipeline route, to acquire wayleaves on a voluntary basis.
If accepted by individual landowners it will enable the acquisition, ahead of a planning application, of the necessary rights to lay, operate, and maintain the water pipeline infrastructure.
A Strategic Infrastructure Development planning application for permission to proceed with the project will be submitted by Uisce Éireann later this year.
The deadline date for the return of the wayleave package consent forms to Uisce Éireann has been extended from 23 September until 7 October to provide more time for farmers and landowners to consider the package and get the necessary advice.
Uisce Éireann says the project is essential because water supply in the eastern and midlands regions faces major challenges.
The most notable is an over-reliance on the River Liffey to supply water for 1.7 million people in the Greater Dublin Area.
Mike Healy, Uisce Éireann Programme Director, said: “With forecasts showing that the region will need 34% more water by 2044, this combination of a growing water supply deficit and lack of supply resilience is simply not sustainable.
“This is a major step towards the delivery of this essential infrastructure and follows months of collaborative engagement, and we look forward to further engaging with landowners and communities along the route,” he added.