Irish parliament urges tougher abstraction regime

The Irish Government is under pressure to make new laws on water abstraction and usage by businesses, agriculture, and other heavy users much tougher.

The government is updating and modernising the existing regime and has published a draft Water Abstractions Bill. However, the parliamentary committee scrutinising the legislation has concluded that the measures need strengthening significantly.

Environmental groups agree and have urged ministers to accept all the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Under the Bill, as it stands, users must register their water usage if they take more than 25 cubic metres, or 25,000 litres, of water a day from rivers, lakes and groundwater sources through wells, boreholes, or pipes. However, the committee says registration should kick in at 10 cubic metres.

The draft says licences should only be required for abstraction over 2,000 cubic metres, or 250-1,999 cubic metres from at-risk sources. The committee says all abstractions over 20 cubic metres should be licenced. Registration opens users up to inspection while licencing would require environmental impact assessments which would allow the public to have an input, the committee pointed out.

The legislation is designed to bring Ireland into compliance with the EU Water Framework Directive and to head off infringement proceedings. The existing abstraction regime is based on legislation enacted in 1942 and 1964.