Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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104. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department will engage with landowners and farmers in Sligo, north Leitrim, west Cavan and Fermanagh regarding the proposed greenway before issuing compulsory purchase orders. [65210/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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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.

My Department allocated €1,200,000 in funding to the development of the Sligo to Enniskillen Greenway in 2025. I understand that the emerging preferred route corridor was published earlier this year and that the project has now commenced Phase 3: Design and Environmental Evaluation.

I understand that the scheme has adhered to date to the Code of Best Practice for National and Regional Greenways in terms of considering stated owned lands in the first instance and ensuring that public consultations are held at key milestones as the scheme progressed through the route options stage. 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 available to assist landowners with their queries and to provide advice on the impact of the proposals. Project liaison officer details are available at .

Leitrim County Council is the lead local authority in relation to progressing this scheme working with Sligo County Council and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council to progress this route. 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 encourage landowners to engage with the appointed project liaison officer in relation to specific queries related to the Sligo to Enniskillen Greenway proposal