John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

However, I refer to the situation of a farmer who has no intention of selling land but must surrender several acres to facilitate the development of road infrastructure. It is inappropriate that such a person must pay a considerable amount of tax on an asset he or she had never intended to realise. If such persons reinvest the compensation in their business, they should be exempt from paying tax because they are providing an important public service.

I understand the fears of other Senators in regard to the significant costs of such developments in urban areas, particularly in the case of the Luas. However, such significant figures are not in question in other areas. In certain parts of rural Ireland, farmers are receiving less compensation for their land than they might expect to get on the open market. There must be an element of realism in this matter and a recognition that development does not only take place in major urban areas. More rural people will be affected and they will often be more severely affected than their urban counterparts.