Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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94. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will take CPOs off the table in relation to greenways; if he will engage in meaningful consultation with landowners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63515/25]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to greenways. The planning, design and construction of National and Regional Greenways is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) in conjunction with the relevant local authority

To assist in delivery of greenways a Code of Best Practice was produced in 2021 to ensure a transparent and pragmatic approach was in taken in terms of community engagement and land acquisition.

The Code states that when developing greenways state-owned lands should be considered to the greatest extent possible and in doing so minimise the potential impacts on privately owned land. Where it is not feasible to use state-owned lands or where there is limited state-owned lands, engagement with local landowners should be sustained and frequent.

The importance of regular public consultation is embedded within the Code. Engagement between affected landowners and the project team is a critical step to ensure that severance of farm holdings is avoided where feasible to do so particularly once a preferred route corridor is published. An independent agronomist is also available to assist landowners with their queries provide advice on the impact of the proposals.

The Code does refer to the use of the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) as a ‘measure of last resort’ if voluntary land acquisition agreements are not possible after sustained engagement with individual landowners. The CPO is a legal mechanism that is contained within the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Section 213) and the Roads Act 1993 (Section 52) which outlines the statutory options available to local authorities. I would like to reiterate that this mechanism is not the preferred or initial approach in delivering greenways.

I have been advised that the Code will undergo a full review in 2026, and key stakeholders will be engaged in the revision process.