- Drone spraying of pesticides is currently not permitted in Ireland — no derogation exists and no aerial PPP products are licensed.
- Drone crop monitoring, mapping, and scouting is legal under EASA Open Category rules for sub-25kg drones.
- EU regulation is actively changing — new rules explicitly enabling agri-drone spraying exemptions are working through the European Parliament now.
- Ireland needs to implement its own national derogation before spraying can begin. See our advocacy page →
EASA: The EU Regulatory Framework
All drone operations in Ireland — including agricultural ones — fall under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) framework, implemented through EU Regulation 2019/947, which came into full effect from 31 December 2020.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is the national competent authority responsible for implementing and enforcing EASA rules in Ireland. When you operate a drone in Ireland, you are operating under an EU-wide framework interpreted and enforced by the IAA.
This matters enormously for agri-drone operators because it means the regulatory landscape is set at EU level — and the EU is actively reforming its rules in favour of precision agriculture drone use. What happens in Brussels directly affects what Irish farmers can do.
The Three Operating Categories
Under EASA, all drone operations fall into one of three categories based on the risk of the operation:
Open Category
Lowest risk. No prior authorisation needed. Drone must be under 25kg, operate below 120m, stay away from people and sensitive areas. Most crop monitoring and scouting operations fall here.
- Sub-categories A1, A2, A3 based on drone weight
- A2 CofC exam required for closer operations
- Register with IAA and mark your drone
- No spraying permitted in this category
Specific Category
Medium risk. Requires prior authorisation — either via a PDRA (Predefined Risk Assessment) or a full SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment). Agricultural spraying operations would require this category.
- PDRA route: faster, uses pre-defined scenarios
- SORA route: full risk assessment, 4–12 months
- EASA has released specific PDRAs for agri-drones
- Still requires Irish national PPP derogation for spraying
Certified Category
Highest risk. Full certification required, similar to manned aircraft. Not relevant for current agricultural operations.
- Large drones carrying people or dangerous goods
- Not applicable to farm drone operations
The PDRA Route: A Faster Path to Authorisation
A major development from EASA has been the publication of Predefined Risk Assessments (PDRAs) specifically designed to speed up the authorisation process for drone operators. Previously, getting approval for a Specific Category operation could take 4–12 months via the full SORA process. PDRAs provide a pre-approved risk framework, dramatically cutting that timeline.
EASA has published five PDRAs, four of which are directly relevant to agricultural drone operations:
| PDRA | Covers | Relevance to Agri |
|---|---|---|
| PDRA S-01 | Agricultural works, short range cargo ops | ✅ Direct — covers spraying operations |
| PDRA S-02 | Surveillance, agricultural works, short range cargo | ✅ Direct — covers monitoring + spraying |
| PDRA G-01 | Surveillance, long range cargo ops | ✅ Partial — useful for large farm mapping |
| PDRA G-03 | Linear inspections, agricultural works | ✅ Direct — field boundary and linear farm work |
The PDRAs exist at EU level. In principle, Irish operators can apply for authorisation under these frameworks via the IAA. However, the critical separate issue — the Irish national prohibition on aerial plant protection product application — remains in place regardless of what EASA authorises for the aviation side.
Ireland's Current Position
This is where Irish farmers and operators need to understand the two separate regulatory layers at play:
Layer 1: Aviation Regulation (EASA/IAA)
Governs whether you can fly the drone. EASA and the IAA set these rules. As of 2026, flying an agri-drone for monitoring, mapping, and scouting is legal under the Open Category. Spraying requires Specific Category authorisation — available in principle via the PDRA route.
Layer 2: Plant Protection Products (DAFM)
Governs whether you can spray with the drone. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) oversees this. Currently, no derogation exists in Ireland for aerial application of PPPs by any unmanned aircraft, and no plant protection products are licensed for aerial use in Ireland.
Even if you obtain full EASA Specific Category authorisation for your drone, you cannot legally spray plant protection products in Ireland because:
- No national derogation from the aerial application prohibition exists (under the transposed Sustainable Use Directive)
- No plant protection products are currently licensed for aerial application in Ireland
Both of these need to change before commercial agri-drone spraying can begin. See our advocacy page for what needs to happen and how to push for it.
What You CAN Do Right Now
The spraying prohibition does not apply to non-PPP drone operations. There is significant and genuinely valuable work that Irish farmers and operators can do legally today:
Multispectral imaging to identify crop stress, disease, nutrient deficiency, and irrigation issues. Legal under Open Category.
Accurate field boundary mapping, elevation models, drainage assessment. Legal under Open Category.
Counting and locating livestock over large areas, particularly useful for hill farmers. Legal under Open Category.
Building the data baseline now means you're ready to act fast when spraying regulations change. Legal and strategically smart.
Not currently permitted in Ireland. Requires national derogation and licensed aerial products.
Same prohibition applies. No licensed products, no derogation.
What's Changing: The EU Reform
The regulatory picture is actively shifting at EU level, and it's moving in the right direction for agri-drone operators in Ireland. Here is what is happening:
The Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products Regulation (SUR)
On 22 June 2022, the European Commission issued a landmark proposal to replace the old Sustainable Use Directive with a new binding Regulation on the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products. This regulation, still working through the legislative process, contains explicit language for the first time creating a framework for drone spraying exemptions.
Article 21 of the proposed regulation states:
"Where certain categories of unmanned aircraft fulfil the criteria set out in paragraph 2, a Member State may exempt aerial application by such unmanned aircraft from the prohibition laid down in Article 20(1) prior to any aerial application of plant protection products... An aerial application by an unmanned aircraft may be exempted by the Member State from the prohibition laid down in Article 20(1) where factors related to the use of the unmanned aircraft demonstrate that the risks from its use are lower than the risks arising from other aerial equipment and land-based application equipment." — European Commission, Proposed SUR Regulation, Article 21
This is the first time EU law has explicitly recognised that drone spraying is categorically different from traditional aerial application — and that Member States should be able to authorise it where it demonstrably reduces risk. The key phrase is that drone spraying can be exempt where it is safer than land-based equipment. Given that drones spray at low altitude, with precision targeting, minimal drift, and dramatically reduced chemical loads, this is a threshold agri-drones can clearly meet.
Germany Leading the Way
Germany moved ahead of the EU regulation in November 2022, when the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport published a National Standard Scenario approving agricultural drones under 50kg for spraying operations. German operators now apply via a simple form rather than a full SORA process. This is the model Ireland should follow.
EASA's PDRA Framework
EASA's publication of specific PDRAs for agricultural operations shows the aviation regulator is ready. The PDRAs are waiting to be used — the bottleneck is now entirely on the plant protection product/derogation side at national level.