IFA support Greenways but ‘no CPOs or land divisions’

FARMERS and the IFA are very much ‘pro-Greenway’ – but the Government must go down the road of co-operation rather than that of compulsory purchase, a farm leader has stated this week. Co. Galway IFA Vice-Chairman, Martin Gibbons from Oughterard, told the Farming Tribune that the IFA and farmers would ‘love to see the Greenway progressed’ but stressed that there were two red-line issues that had to be addressed. “Land severance – where a Greenway is proposed to cut through a farmer’s land – and CPOs [Compulsory Purchase Orders] can never be a part of this process. “Situations cannot arise resulting in divisions of farms and we cannot have the ‘big stick’ of Compulsory Purchase Order hanging over landowners,” said Martin Gibbons. The issue of CPOs has again arisen following the publication of the Strategy for the Future Development of National and Regional Greenways last month by Transport Minister, Shane Ross and Minister of State, Brendan Griffin. Under the heading of ‘Land Purchase’ in the document, the Government position is that they anticipate voluntary agreements will be entered into, to sell off small sections of land to construct the Greenway.