Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

The following agricultural and forestry developments must be subjected to EIA as part of the planning process. An application for planning permission, including an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), must be submitted in such cases:

(a) The use of uncultivated land or semi-natural areas for intensive agricultural purposes, where the area involved would be greater than 100 hectares;

(b) Water management projects for agriculture

-where the catchment area involved would be greater than 1,000 hectares, or

-where more than 50 hectares of wetlands would be affected.,

(c) Afforestation where the area on its own, or together with areas planted within the previous three years, would be over 70 hectares; or replacement of broadleaf forest by conifers, where the area would be over 10 hectares;

(d) Land reclamation for the purposes of conversion to another type of land use, where the area involved would be greater than 100 hectares;

(e) Peat extraction which would involve a new or extended area of 50 hectares or more,

(f) Poultry-rearing installations, where the capacity would exceed 100,000 units and where units have the following equivalents;

1 broiler = 1 unit

1 layer, turkey or other fowl = 2 units;

(g) Pig-rearing installations, where the capacity would exceed 1,000 units on gley soils or 3000 units on the other soils and where units have the following equivalents;

1 pig = 1 unit

1 sow = 10 units.

EIA will be required for projects in categories (f) and (g) even where the listed thresholds are not exceeded, if the planning authority considers that there may be significant effects on the environment.

Further Information on EIA

The page Environmental  Impact Assessment explains the EIA process and what an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is. The planning authority will explain which development proposals require EIA and you are strongly advised to contact the planning authority for pre-planning consultaions if your proposal may involvethe preparation of an EIS.