Billing of groundwater - government says it will protect farmers

The Ministry for Resources this evening referred to calls by Brussels for groundwater extraction to be billed and said that the government intends to safeguard the legitimate use of groundwater for agricultural purposes.

"This will be done through the allocation of quotas to individual farmers which will ensure that agricultural land has the sufficient allocation of water to remain sustainable," the Ministry said.

Such measures are allowed in terms of the Water Framework Directive.

The Ministry has submitted a draft Water Catchment Management Plan to the European Commission. The submission of the final Management Plan will be possible following the end of the national public consultation period (which comes to an end on 30 November 2010).