The majority of farmers would object or consider objecting to a greenway crossing their land, according to the findings of a new survey.
258 farmers shared their feelings on greenways in an online survey organised by the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA).
The results show that around half (128) farmers would definitely object to a greenway on their land, a further 33% (86) said that they could possibly object to such a development.
15% of respondents (39) said that they would not object, while five farmers said that there was already a greenway on their land.
Survey
Of the 254 farmers who responded to a question on their main concern about having a greenway on their land, 44% pointed to a loss of privacy.
28% said they would be concerned about the inconvenience a greenway project would bring and a further 17% cited the potential financial impact of such a development.
5% of the farmers indicated that they would have no concerns, while the remaining 6% outlined other issues.
80% of farmers said that they are against the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) by the State to acquire land for greenway projects.
6% (15) of the 256 farmers who replied to this question were in favour of the use of CPO for greenways, with 14% indicating “maybe”.
The survey shows that 128 (51%) of 251 farmers did not see any benefit in having a greenway in their area.
24% (60) said there was a community benefit due to the availability of a local greenway, 19% (48) cited an economic benefit and 6% believed that such a project would support employment.
The government has allocated €360 million per year for sustainable walking and cycling developments, under which funding for greenways is provided.
€72 million is being provided to local authorities this year to progress 70 greenway projects across the country.
117 (46%) of the 255 farmers who responded on this question in the INHFA survey said that the State should spend no more money on greenway projects.
27% stated that the government should maintain the budget at its current rate, with 27% seeking a reduction in spending.
Greenway
Commenting on the findings of the survey, INHFA vice-president John Joe Fitzgerald challenged the government’s ambition to expand our national greenway routes.
He said that the government must “recognise the level of concern there is in farming communities and reassess their plans”.
Fitzgerald said that the use of CPOs for greenway projects is “a glorified land-grab that should never be used to acquire land for what is a recreational activity”.
The INHFA vice-president also claimed that some project routes were “intrusive and inconvenient” for farmers.
“This undermines basic property rights and no amount of money can put a value on such an inconvenience, nor can a price be put on the privacy enjoyed by many generations now being lost through the introduction of a greenway,” he said.
Fitzgerald acknowledged that the initial greenway programmes were successful as they had “buy-in” from the local communities.
However, he claimed that the current approach when acquiring land for greenways is “light-years from the original concept”.
The INHFA vice-president also questioned if State funding could be better used on other infrastructure projects.