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

I thank the Senator. I agree with her sentiment that what we regard as consultation is not what is happening. Sending a letter or notification is not consultation. I saw this happen in the national greenway from Athlone to Galway, which has not proceeded because the consultation is not real consultation and there is no discussion or engagement.
I reiterate, as the Senator has, that greenways have a significant benefit beyond the transport sector in areas such as regional economic development, public health, tourism, climate resilience and connectivity. In 2026, the Department will invest almost €44 million in greenways. The primary objective across proposed greenway schemes is to acquire land on a voluntary basis. This is stated explicitly in the code of best practice for national regional greenways. The CPOs are not entered into lightly by local authorities and are only pursued where voluntary land acquisition cannot be achieved after sustained comprehensive engagement. The Senator asked me how engagement is monitored. That is a good question. I will come to that later.
The code recognises the practical reality that greenways must be continuous and a missing section can undermine the safety, accessibility and viability of the entire route. While voluntary agreement is always the preferred option, in certain circumstances CPOs have to be used. I understand the code was developed by a range of stakeholders, including the IFA, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association. I am also advised that an annual review of the code takes place, the most recent of which took place in March 2026. A commitment has been made to complete the review of the code, which is due to terminate in December of this year.
The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and I have had discussions with our officials this week. We will get further feedback from them to determine how we can improve the code and make it more workable. At the end of the day, it is important that engagement is not letters, emails or whatever, but rather interaction with people on the ground who have experience and can discuss with landowners the intricacies and their concerns and how we can take it from there.

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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