Calls for CPOs to be ‘taken off the table’ rejected by TII
Tensions around land rights and greenway projects resurfaced in Leinster House this week, as Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) faced questioning and criticism over the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs).
Farmers and landowners from across the country travelled to Dublin to protest outside the Dáil to raise concerns about CPOs and to highlight flaws in the consultation process being carried out with affected property owners.
The Joint Committee on Transport heard evidence from the National Greenway Action Association, the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) and the Déise Greenway Group.
TII chief executive Lorcan O’Connor defended the use of CPOs, insisting they should only be used as a last resort, but that they remain “a necessary part” of the overall process.
IFA regional chair Paul O’Brien said the organisation’s position was clear, greenways should be developed along public land wherever possible and not across private farmland, as outlined in the Government’s 2018 Strategy for the Future Development of National and Regional Greenways.
“This principle is not being upheld in practice. Many proposed greenway routes are being planned across privately owned farmland rather than public or state lands,” he said.
Mr O’Brien argued that the current approach was creating significant stress and hardship for farming families, and also criticised the consultation process, saying it had become “a box-ticking exercise”.
“Constructive dialogue, not confrontation, should be the starting point for all greenway planning,” he added.
Members of the National Greenway Action Association told the committee that, in their experience, engagement with TII frequently broke down once landowners declined to sell.
They said discussions often ended with the prospect of a CPO being raised, and they felt that it was increasingly becoming the default tool to keep greenway projects progressing.
Cleona O’Shea from the association said the constant possibility of CPOs was placing a huge strain on families whose land is being considered for new routes.
“Projects that should unite communities are dividing them, creating fear, stress and generational conflict,” she said. “People cannot invest, sleep or plan under the constant shadow of CPO.”
Lucy Fabey, a Mayo resident also from the association, described how uncertainty surrounding the Belclare to Murrisk Greenway has left families “in limbo” for a third consecutive year.
The original proposal was to develop a roadside greenway along the R335, which was approved and funded in 2019, but stalled after funding was reportedly lost following a departmental audit in 2020.
After TII took over responsibility for greenways in 2021, its updated standards meant that the R335 roadside option was no longer viable.
In 2023, a new route for the greenway was proposed, which took the project off-road, across private farmland, uphill into a flood plain valley, and up onto the side of Croagh Patrick.
Ms Fabey said landowners then learned, through a local newspaper report, that land used for greenways must be owned by a local authority in order to secure TII funding.
This sparked renewed fears that CPOs would be used to ensure the Beclare to Murrisk greenway progresses, as many landowners have stated they will not sell their land.
“This is year three,” she said, “We found out by way of a local newspaper that the county council admitted the project could not be moved forward because they didn’t own the land.”
Mayo TD Rose Conway-Walsh condemned the current consultation process between TII and affected landowners, calling it “disrespectful”, and she urged that CPOs be “taken off the table”.
“If CPOs were taken off the table, it would force proper consultation,” she said, “There are constitutional property rights there to protect people, and what is happening here is wrong.”
“I am for greenways, the benefits are wonderful, but there is an inherent laziness and disrespect here that needs to be rooted out.”
Mr O’Connor responded and rejected the call to take CPOs off the table completely, arguing that in some cases, they were a necessary part of the overall process.
He said the issue lies not with the existence of CPOs themselves, but with the way in which the Code of Best Practice for Greenway Development is being applied in some areas.
Mr O’Connor told the committee that landowners and representative groups would be invited to contribute to the next annual review of the code, where any “tweaks or changes” could be considered.
After hearing the lived experience of landowners from across the county on how the process is affecting them, he said the review would be an opportunity to strengthen how the greenway consultation system operates.
The Belclare to Murrisk Greenway is currently at phase two of development, with phase three, the detailed design and environmental assessment, not expected to be completed until the second quarter of 2026.
That stage will determine whether the project proceeds through a local authority Part 8 process or is referred to An Bord Pleanála, meaning a planning decision is unlikely for at least another 12 months after that.
For landowners and farmers along the proposed route, the prospect of another year and a half of uncertainty is adding to what is already a stressful situation, with prolonged speculation and a lack of clarity adding to the contention.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.