Greenways Provision
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-28
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Danny Healy-Rae (IND), Kerry

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.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:52+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-28