The proposed greenway between Carlingford and Dundalk in Co Louth is causing consternation among farmers whose lands are located along the suggested routes.

Many farms will be split in two if the walkway goes ahead, one Louth farmer affected by the proposals told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“It’s infrastructure that’s not needed, it’s not wanted and it’s causing an awful lot of stress for people along the peninsula,” Matthew McGreehan said.

“There are plenty of walks there, which farmers already co-operate with,” McGreehan said.

It sets a very bad precedent, he argued, if farmers are forced to simply give up parts of their farm to benefit public walkways.

Privacy

The greenway causes an invasion of privacy for not only landowners but also homeowners, he argued.

“It’s not just farmers who will have people poking their noses right up to the back of farmyards and through their fields, homeowners who have bought property feel that the value of that property will be affected.

“Vital farmland that has been in families for generations will be lost and we’ll never get them back if greenways like this go ahead. It has to be stopped – if the State can just come in and take land off farmers, that affects all landowners across the country,” he said.

McGreehan said he has a 10ac field along the coast that will be affected if the greenway comes to pass.

Around 11,500ac of farmland and 128 farmyards are included in the study area for the walkway, the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has said.

Louth IFA chair Kevin Sweeney said that the greenway is not wanted by anyone in the county.

There have been three public meetings held over the greenway where serious concerns were raised over many issues including privacy, security, litter, dog worrying, parking, animal disease and costs associated with the maintenance of the greenway.