Greenways Provision
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-14
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Seán Canney (IND), Galway East

I thank Senator Lynch for her very important question. It gives me the opportunity to discuss this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport. At the outset, I think it is important to outline the respective roles of some of the main stakeholders within the greenway programme: the Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to greenways while the planning, design and construction of individual greenways is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, as the approving authority, in conjunction with the relevant local authorities. Local authorities, in turn, use the Code of Best Practice for National and Regional Greenways as the guide for planning and delivering schemes.
The code was published in late 2021 and was developed in partnership with a range of representatives from the rural recreation, tourism, sport, farming, local business development and transport sectors. It sets out a clear, structured, and transparent approach to greenway development; an approach that prioritises early engagement, voluntary agreements and minimising impacts on landowners.
The code states that State-owned lands should be used to the greatest extent possible when designing greenways. Where it is not feasible to use State-owned lands, or where there is limited State-owned lands, then the approach of sustained and regular engagement with local landowners is firmly embedded within the code. This engagement is a critical step to ensure that severance of land and farm holdings is avoided where feasible. The code also ensures that an independent agronomist is available to assist landowners with their queries and provide advice on the impact of any route proposals.
The preferred approach in relation to land acquisition for greenways is to procure required land by voluntary land agreements. All reasonable efforts should be made to acquire land on a voluntary basis. It is only as a measure of last resort that a compulsory purchase order will be pursued by a local authority, and only after sustained engagement with individual landowners.
CPOs are a long-standing statutory mechanism available to local authorities for public infrastructure projects that is justified by the common good. Their use is subject to strict legal processes and oversight, including independent oversight through An Coimisiún Pleanála. Even where a CPO commences, there is further ongoing engagement throughout the entire process to try and reach a voluntary land agreement. The CPO process also includes a mandatory obligation to seek to negotiate a settlement of the compensation issues including accommodation works.
Where agreement cannot be reached, the statutory arbitration process is available. It is important to highlight that most claims are resolved by negotiated agreement without the need for a decision from the arbitrator.
I advise that CPOs are truly a measure of last resort, but there remain situations where, despite best efforts, agreement cannot be reached and this legal mechanism is required to ensure that a route can be fully delivered. A real-life example of this can be seen in the Clifden to Recess section of the Connemara greenway. This route has been in development since 2013, with TII taking over funding and delivery of the scheme in 2021 alongside Galway County Council. Approximately 16 km of the route has been delivered to date via agreed co-operation between landowners and the local authority. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to deliver the remaining 6 km of the route despite extensive engagement over a protracted period. As such, Galway County Council proceeded to a CPO in 2024.
The code requires extensive consultation before such steps are considered. Landowners must be engaged with at an early stage and their concerns listened to. It is true that such collaboration for the facilitation of greenways can be efficiently delivered, bringing a huge array of social, health, commercial and environmental benefits to the local area, as well as further afield.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:57+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-14