Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)

I thank the members of TII who are here with us today. There are hundreds of people outside and those people left home at 2 o'clock or 3 o'clock in the morning to come up here. They are here because they are seriously concerned about what will happen to their land. They have mental health issues because of this. They have massive stress issues. Some people are not eating and some are not sleeping because they do not know the future. Their future is hugely important to these people and it is important that they pass on the land. There are children outside there today and that is what the people want to do: pass on a farm that is not divided and split in two. It does not work. There are ways of doing it.

There are fantastic walks where CPO was never used. I personally have no issue with walkways and cycleways. They are a great idea but not with a CPO hanging over anybody's head. I have a number of questions and I would love more time but I am afraid I can only ask for a yes-no answer with these questions. I cannot go any further than that because I only have two minutes and I have 30 questions. That could be counted as one question, I do not care. Does the code of practice not clearly state that State-owned lands must be used first for greenway developments, yes or no?