A group of farmers whose lands will be affected by the South Kerry Greenway have highlighted their concerns over how the project is progressing.

Kerry County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) are currently working on the 27km greenway from Glenbeigh to Cahersiveen, which was first mooted in 2011.

An Bord Pleanála gave the project the green light in November 2020, along with an accompanying compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the lands required.

In February 2022, the Supreme Court rejected two legal challenges paving the way for the greenway to proceed.

One of the challenges was taken by a group of landowners who were opposed to the use of CPO for the project.

Public consultation to extend the greenway by 5km from Caherciveen to Reenard began last October.

Up to 100 people attended a recent meeting organised by Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) in Foilmore.

The farmers who spoke expressed their annoyance over how works on the project had impacted them to date.

Some landowners made claims of being bullied, mistreated, harassed and disrespected by Kerry County Council - these allegations have been refuted by the council.

Jason Fleming, chair of Kerry IFA, called for "proper engagement" between Kerry County Council and the landowners to resolve the outstanding issues.

"Everyone is supporting the greenway. All they are looking for as farmers on the ground is to get the accommodation works done and farmers to get paid and have a timeline when this greenway is going to be finished so farmers can get back farming their land," he said.

"We've highlighted the main issues and we'll get a delegation into Kerry County Council and move it on," Fleming added.

The Kerry IFA chair also agreed with a suggestion from the floor that a group of farmers could attend a meeting with the local authority.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Healy-Rae, who attended the meeting, said he wants the landowners who have issues and concerns to be "dealt with in a positive and proactive way".

The minister, who believes the greenway will be beneficial to the entire region when it opens, said he would relay what was said at the meeting to Kerry County Council.

"[In] the cases of farmers that I have been advocating for and negotiating for, I found the council to be very workmanlike when you could actually sit down and start dealing on an individual basis.

"If we can remove the fog that's there at present and try and get into a clearer setting of negotiating and dealing and trying to sort each individual person's issues out, that's what it's about at the end of the day," he told Agriland .

However, Minister Healy-Rae said he is not in favour of arbitration as an option for the landowners due to the potential legal costs involved.

"Going to arbitration over a €5,000 issue might cost €100,000. I would rather see the money that would be spent on arbitration being spent on accommodation works, compensation for the farmers involving, dealing with the issues rather than running up a big massive legal bill," he said.

"I am not for any one second trying to say to people you shouldn't stand up for yourself. I'm not saying that at all, I'm saying the exact opposite," he added.

Both Minister Healy-Rae and his brother, Kerry Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae, who was also present, said they were against the use of CPO.

Several Kerry county councillors at the meeting said they would raise the concerns with the local authority, including suggesting that case managers could be appointed.

In a statement to Agriland, Kerry County Council said that it cannot comment on individual cases.

"However, in the general terms, the development on South Kerry Greenway is being undertaken in compliance with all relevant legislation and the code of practice for national and regional greenways," the council said.

Works are progressing on a phased basis, with a 5km section between Glenbeigh and Mountain Stage and the 3km section between Kells Post Office and Kells Station (3km) being at the most advances stages.

The council anticipates that both sections will be surfaced in 2025.

"There are 133 landowners on the South Kerry Greenway and many agreements have been reached to date.

"When a compensation package is agreed the conveyancing process progresses immediately.

"Landowners are paid following receipt of signed agreements and evidence of title as is the normal acquisition practice," the local authority said.

Kerry County Council said it is "continuously engaging with landowners and their agents in relation to reaching agreement on accommodation works and compensation".

Additional liaison officers have been made available to the project with a view to resolving issues and to provide further clarifications and advice to landowners and their agents.

"Kerry County Council very much welcome continuing engagements with the IFA to discuss progress on the scheme in relation to access and land acquisition.

"Where agreement cannot be reached on accommodation works and compensation there is recourse for landowners to avail of the dispute resolution processes i.e., mediation, assessment and arbitration.

"Kerry County Council is open to mediation as the first resolution process to address unresolved issues," the council said.