Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Two weeks ago, I called on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to engage in genuine consultation with farmers and landowners in east County Galway about the proposed greenway cycle route project. It now transpires that the Minister has written to around a thousand landowners in a bid to work out a feasible route. However, I am concerned that this may not be a genuine consultation, because I have had sight of the letter sent to landowners and it is clear that their legitimate concerns still are being ignored.First, the threat of compulsory purchase orders, CPOs, is still on the table. Where the Department is proposing to run a new public right of way through family farms, using the threat of a CPO or such proceedings against farmers is absolutely outrageous. CPOs are designed to be used in the context of vital national infrastructure. Such infrastructure does not include cycle paths. Second, the Department seems determined to proceed with the route it has selected. No consideration is being given to an alternative route along the train line, where the land is actually owned by the public. Further, the Minister proposes that two of his officials will meet and visit farmers individually to discuss, among other things, the possibility of CPOs being made in respect of their lands. This is a regrettable development. I agree with the IFA to the effect that farmers should be able to meet the officials in groups rather than on an individual basis. There is an inherent inequality in outnumbering any given farmer with two officials who have been told to push the implicit threat of the use of a CPO with a view to obtaining agreement. This type of behaviour on the part of the Department is unfair and unreasonable.

There are other matters which must be addressed, including farm safety issues. A farm is a working environment. Imagine if a factory owner was informed that a cycle path was to be run through his yard or across his factory floor. Such a development simply would not be tolerated. However, farmers are expected to assume the risk of members of the public having access to their lands, where potentially dangerous livestock may be located. One farmer to whom I spoke pointed out that the planned route dissects his land and that his dairy herd will have to cross the greenway four times each day. There are obvious safety concerns arising. There are also privacy concerns, particularly with people being obliged to come to terms with a public right of way running close to their private dwellings. It is extremely regrettable that measures to protect privacy are entirely absent from the Minister's proposed consultation process. People in rural areas, as is well known in this House, are concerned about crime. They are particularly worried about the increase in the number of crimes at isolated properties. Garda stations have been closed and it is now rare for people in rural areas to receive a visit from local gardaí. In the current climate, people are rightly concerned about the creation of a public right of way close to their homes. In order to prevent this greenway project from turning from a mess into a fiasco, the Minister needs to offer meaningful measures relating to safety and privacy to landowners. This has not yet been done. No farmer should be threatened with a CPO in order to facilitate a cycle path.