Best practice for greenways includes compulsory purchase order (CPO) as a “last resort”, according to Darragh O'Brien, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment.

Fine Gael TD Michael Murphy had asked the minister whether he considers the use of CPOs appropriate for the development of greenways and other leisure amenities.

Some farm families have protested in certain parts of the country over the development, paricularly if they have been linked to CPOs.

Minister O'Brien said: “The Code of Best Practice for National and Regional Greenways was published in late 2021 following its development by a sub-group made up of a range of representatives from the rural recreation, tourism, sport, farming, local business development and transport sectors.”

He added: “The code provides guidance on the planning, designing and constructing of greenways”.

“It also includes information on the use of state-owned lands and the acquisition of private lands for developing greenways.”

Code

The minister added that the intention of the code is “to ensure a transparent and pragmatic approach in taken in relation to land acquisition”.

According to the minister, the code states that: “Where it is not feasible to use state owned lands or where there is limited state-owned lands, the project promoter will then engage with local landowners with sustained and regular engagement embedded within the code.

“Engagement between affected landowners and the project team is a critical step to ensure that severance of farm holdings is avoided where feasible to do so particularly once a preferred route corridor is published.”

Minister O’Brien also said that an independent agronomist “is available to assist landowners with their queries provide advice on the impact of the proposals”.

Greenways and CPOs

On the subject of CPOs, the minister said that the code refers to the use of CPOs as a “measure of last resort” if voluntary land acquisition agreements are not possible after sustained engagement with individual landowners.

He added: “It is important to note the CPO process involves a number of stages and allows for continued negotiations at every stage to provide the opportunity for a voluntary agreement to be entered into between landowners and the project promoters.

“It is important to highlight that the majority of claims are resolved by negotiated agreement without the need for a decision from an arbitrator.”

The minster said: “The code acknowledges the important role of farmers and landowners in the process. It highlights the importance of treating them fairly and equitably.”