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FLAWED GREENWAY PROCESS RUMBLES ON AS CPOs TO BE INITIATED IN MID APRIL

Apr 3, 2018 | Press Releases | 0 comments

29 MARCH 2018

ICSA rural development chairman Seamus Sherlock has said the ongoing Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process in Kerry with regard to the South Kerry Greenway should be a major cause for concern for landowners everywhere. ICSA understands that Kerry County Council will initiate court proceedings against affected landowners in mid-April, paving the way for the CPO process to begin.

Commenting Mr Sherlock said, “The consultation process for both the Galway and Kerry greenways was flawed from the outset. This was acknowledged by Minister Shane Ross at a meeting with ICSA in January 2017, who then promised a renewed consultation process. This consultation happened in the summer of 2017 and we await the publication of its findings.”

“It is laughable that Minister Ross could acknowledge that the process used was flawed, yet he would still choose to continue with that flawed process on these projects, with only a vague ambition to correct the process for future greenways.”

ICSA Galway representative Adrian Kelly added, “Farmers in Kerry are essentially being used as guinea pigs in this wholly defective project. The stakes are raising all the time and landowners are now faced with the imminent prospect of having lands swiped from underneath them. What happens in Kerry will no doubt set a template for what will happen in east Galway and Connemara. Time is of the essence now and I am calling on Minister Ross to desist from dragging landowners to court until a proper assessment of the consultation findings can be completed.”

ENDS

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