Private property, loss of privacy, littering, animal disease and wildlife implications were among the fears and concerns the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) outlined in a meeting with Cork and Waterford county councils and engineers over the proposed Mallow to Dungarvan greenway.

IFA environment chair Paul O'Brien said that his association's delegation highlighted the real concerns of farmers along the route, especially around property.

Most of the old railway line, where the route is proposed to take place, is no longer in public ownership and has been re-purchased by farmers over the years.

“Many farmers now own and use the railway line as part of their farm, with many developments around private houses and farmyards.

"This makes this project much more complex compared to using a railway line or other land that is in public ownership," O’Brien said.

Accommodation works and the appointment of an independent agronomist that would be available to farmers as soon as possible were other concerns the IFA had.

Response

The project promoters provided the IFA with a full briefing on the project and an update on the current feasibility study taking place.

"The project team explained that they are currently undertaking a concept and feasibility analysis and expect to have a final report by quarter one of 2023.

"They said there will be a second consultation stage in November or December of 2022, with another opportunity for the public, including affected farmers, to make a submission on the project," O'Brien added.

After this, he said, the final report is expected to be published in early 2023 and will include an emerging preferred route and full costs analysis.

CPOs

The IFA delegation said it is opposed to any severance of farms or compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) for amenity projects such aa greenways.

"The IFA has negotiated a code of best practice for greenways with the Government and both of these issues are well flagged in the code. "Severance has to be avoided where at all possible and voluntary land purchase agreements have to take precedent over CPOs," he said.

The project promoters confirmed to the IFA that they will be implementing the code of best practice in terms of developing the Mallow to Dungarvan Greenway.

"Full and proper consultation with farmers is critical to develop any infrastructural project and he cautioned the project promoters not to make the same mistake," O'Brien argued.