2026-04-28

This has been an ongoing for a long time. Back in 2014 when the compulsory purchase order, CPO, was being mooted and talked about, the management in Kerry County Council at the time were insisting on the CPO process to all the members of the council. Both myself and Councillor Johnny Healy-Rae were totally and absolutely against the CPO process because it encapsulates and gives fierce powers. I have always believed in ownership. If somebody owns land or owns a house, I believe it is theirs and that to deal with them, we have to buy it or make a deal in some way or other. The idea that someone can come on to someone's land and take as much as they want or need without any clarity for the owners to build a road or a cycleway that will be finished and opened to the public, but the owners are not yet paid, is very hurtful to many people, and indeed it is hurtful to me. Where accommodation works are needed, they have to be agreed with the owners. If a road is put through a field and that field was always open for cattle, sheep, silage, hay or whatever, to get from one side to cross the greenway as easy as you can for cattle and for tractors or whatever, accommodation works are needed and have to be provided. For greenways going forward, CPO is not the way to go because we need to have the goodwill of the people. People are entitled to and can have a different value on different properties, for example, a site for a child, for themselves, or for whatever other use they have which might place a significant value on the land over what the people dealing with them might think. Greenways sometimes finish up close to dwellings or outbuildings. This is the case in this instance and many families feel that their privacy is compromised. They feel very exposed to the public view. There is no doubt that local businesses in Glenbeigh, Rossbeigh and all of the other business down to and including Cahersiveen badly need the perk and the boost to the economy that this very scenic greenway will bring. I had to pay for any property I ever purchased before I entered it or began working it. I cannot understand why a greenway or piece of land that is to be used as an amenity is not paid for in the same way. Surely a contract should have been drawn up detailing what the land take would be and the accommodation works needed, that the farmer would be paid before any work started, with evidence provided of insurance to cover the farmer, the workers, any visitors and everyone involved.

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter, which I am dealing with on behalf of Minister for Transport. On a personal level, I do not disagree with a lot of what the Deputy said. He is absolutely right and I will come back to that in a minute. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for the overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to greenways. The planning, design and construction of individual greenways is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TIl, as the approving authority and the relevant local authority, which in the case of this project is Kerry County Council. The delivery of the south Kerry greenway is a key priority within the greenways programme. It is a significant project that will link Glenbeigh and Cahersiveen, with the 24 km route primarily following the old railway line. Over €9 million has been allocated to fund this project in 2026 alone, while a further €7 million, approximately, was allocated to fund this scheme in 2025. This significant investment underlines the Government's commitment to the project. I hear the Deputy's point about the economic lift the greenway will give the areas he mentioned. I understand that two sections of the greenway route have opened in recent months and that another section will be opened over the summer. This is a positive development and signals Kerry County Council’s commitment to progressing this project to delivery. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the challenges involved in delivering this scheme, which range from complex engineering issues involving topography and remediation works on historical structures to inflationary pressures and, of course, land acquisition. The preferred approach to land acquisition for greenways is to procure required land by voluntary land agreements, VLAs. All reasonable efforts should be made to acquire land on a voluntary basis. It is only as a last resort that a CPO will be pursued by a local authority and it should only ever be a last resort. Even then, where a CPO process commence,s there should be further ongoing engagement throughout the process to try and reach a voluntary land agreement. That may not happen in some cases. I have heard that this is not the situation in some cases, which disappoints me. CPOs are a long-standing statutory mechanism available to local authorities for public infrastructure projects and their use is subject to strict legal processes and oversight. I hear very clearly the Deputy's remarks about the use of CPOs and he is right. It must be by the will of the people. There must be engagement, constructive and meaningful talks and conversations with landowners and others. That is the only way to proceed. I see this in my own constituency and in Cork South West, with the Cork to Kinsale greenway. I fully agree with the Deputy that we must bring people together, not divide and conquer. Kerry County Council has advised that land is being acquired from 138 landowners for the south Kerry greenway. As of early April 2026, compensation has been agreed and paid to 36 landowners. Compensation has been agreed with a further 54 landowners and these claims are at various stage of the conveyancing process. The average time between finalising conveyancing details with a landowner’s solicitor and making payment is five to six months. I have been advised that it is expected that all of these 54 claims will be paid in 2026, barring any unforeseen circumstances or issues. I would like to confirm to the Deputy that funding is available to pay these claims in 2026 on completion of the relevant legal documentation. When completed, 65% of all impacted landowners will have been fully compensated for their land. In 16 cases, no statement of claim has been received from the landowner or the landowner’s agent, which is resulting in delays to the process. There are other cases where agreement of landowners’ agent's fees is also delaying the process. Three cases have been referred to arbitration and are engaging with the formal process to help bring matters toward a fair and timely resolution. I have been assured that Kerry County Council officials are working closely with remaining local landowners and their agents to finalise accommodation works and land acquisition payments. As the Deputy will appreciate, it is critical that there is a working relationship between the local authority and all landowners to ensure that all claims can be settled. I encourage all landowners to engage with the project team if they have not done so.

I thank the Minister of State for his detailed reply. Before work starts on any man's land or woman's land, it should be paid for first, and not afterwards. It is not right that they may be paid at a later time. The Minister of State is telling me that some of them will be paid this year. What I am saying is do not go into any other man's land without paying first and agreeing the accommodation works. That is my view on it anyway. To go back to when the CPO process was put in place, I was there and involved in the council meetings before Christmas. The officials came back and said they could not agree with six or seven. I begged the manager to send down more help with him, and that I would go myself, if needed, to talk to the landowners and see how those six or seven could be brought around. When the compulsory purchase order was being mooted first, I thought it was only for those six or seven. I appreciated that all the rest of them were willing to talk and to agree. As a last resort, it should have been only the ones they had trouble with and not all of them. When we see the powers that were given and that people are not paid until the works are completed, it is very wrong. I am asking the Minister of State not to allow this to happen in any other part of the country - our country. I am talking about Kerry. It is vital that the landowners are brought on board where these walkways and cycleways are going through. You will always need their goodwill and to show goodwill to the people who are coming to visit our county. That is important. I am asking the Minister of State not to let this happen in any other part of the country. These people have not been paid and their accommodation is up in the air. They need to be talked to. There is a lot of work to sort it out. I am begging the Minister of State to do so and to ensure that we bring back the goodwill of the people whose lands we are going through because it is vital to have their goodwill on our side. The greenway will help everyone. It is making life difficult for the landowners, but they have to be compensated and seen after.

The first point I will make is that greenways will have significant benefit to the local areas, as the Deputy said, in terms of significant benefits beyond the transport sector in areas such as regional economic development, public health, climate resilience and economic activity. The point the Deputy made is that it is important that three sections of the Kerry greenway will be open to the public by the summer. I will restate that it is, and should be, as the Deputy said, the primary objective across all proposed greenway schemes to acquire land voluntarily. In the transport committee in November, TII committed to reviewing the code this year. In tandem, the Government will review the parent greenway document strategy. I will come back to that again another day with the Deputy. It is important that best practice for regional and national greenways is that we do not enter into CPOs as a first resort, that it is the last resort, that there is engagement, connection and conversation, and that it is voluntary land acquisition. I ask Deputy Healy-Rae to be that conduit. I believe, and will make the point, that Kerry County Council has said it is a priority for it that it will settle land acquisition arrangements. I hope it will because they are landowners. As the Deputy said, they are people who have worked hard for the land that they have. Equally, it is important that all lines of communication are open and that there is an opportunity to be taken to resolve the matter to ensure we see a positive solution that can be achieved for all the people living and working in south Kerry. I hope we will see progress. We need to see that done. The Deputy is right; there is no point in driving and dividing people. It is about bringing people together, and we all benefit from that. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter on behalf of the people of south Kerry. I have it my own constituency. I am fully aware of the issues he has raised. It is one that we need to see common sense in as well, because it is about people. People in these cases are not looking to cause trouble. They are looking to protect themselves and do what is best for their communities. I am sorry to the staff for running over time.