Dáil Éireann Private Members Motion on Roads That Dáil Éireann Aware of the importance for the economy of the speedy delivery of the planned upgrading of our national road network Conscious of the need for adequate and genuine consultation with the communities affected by these projects Mindful of the widespread concern and anxiety throughout the country on major road development projects Concerned that the current Compulsory Purchase (CPO) procedure is too cumbersome and slow and can result in unfair prices being paid to landowners Believing that bottlenecks in the planning system are delaying the delivery of key projects and that the Planning and Development Act 2001 has not been and cannot be implemented due to lack of qualified personnel Knowing that in the National Development Plan public/private partnerships are envisaged for eleven major road projects and that the NRA has decided that this will involve widespread road tolling Condemns the Government for the delays in the delivery of the national road network and calls on the Government to immediately Take steps, including amending Legislation to ensure a greater level of accountability on the part of the NRA in its relationship with local authorities, public representatives and citizens Establish procedures to allow for meaningful public consultation by ensuring early publication and circulation of all appropriate studies, reports, surveys, maps, constraints, studies, investigations and all essential documentation and to ensure that the views of public representatives and citizens be duly acknowledged and considered prior to the announcement of any route selection Reform the CPO procedure Justify to Dáil Éireann their economic rationale for the imposition of road tolls Dáil Extract: Mr. McGrath: I too welcome the fact that we are going to improve our infrastructure by the development of roads. The crucial point at stake is how we are going to do it and what level of communication we will have with those concerned and how involved they will be in planning the future infrastructure. As my colleague outlined earlier, approximately 25,000 acres of land will be taken over the next two or three years for necessary road development and that will involve approximately 8,000 landowners. Most of the land will have to be acquired by compulsory purchase order. In my constituency there will be approximately 400 landowners involved with land purchases for the N4, N6 and N52. It is hard for anybody to comprehend what it is like to have a compulsory purchase order placed on you which is going to affect your livelihood. I can think of one landowner in particular with a barely viable 50 acres of land. He is already struggling and compulsory purchase orders are going to take 11 of his best acres. That is going to make his farm totally unviable. How can he have a sense of the future, of being able to look after his family and feel the State is treating him properly? He is not involved in the design of the road or where it will be. He is simply told it is coming through his land, end of the story, and there is not a lot he can do about it. This is happening because we have an outdated compulsory purchase order system which dates back to 1919. It is cumbersome, slow and very rigid and it needs to be changed urgently. When one looks at the cost of new developments, about 5% of the total cost of roads goes to the landowners. Compare that to the money paid to a landowner in the case of housing or other developments. He gets a far higher percentage than 5% of the total. Toll roads are commercial developments. As those who build them will make money out of them, why is the land being taken for them, which is being purchased by CPO, not development land? How can the Minister of State subject farmers and others to payment of the agricultural rate for land which will enable commercial developers to reap a rich reward, that is, if the toll road option is pursued? With the State awash with money, as the Tánaiste said, we should be able to build the necessary infrastructure without having toll roads. In my area of County Westmeath and the midlands generally we will have to pay tolls to get to our major cities. This will affect the viability of industrial projects in our area. We will be at a disadvantage, although we are in the BMW area. Why should we be at such a disadvantage compared to industries in other areas which can avail of cities and ports without paying such tolls? This is unfair. I recently met some landowners who will be affected by this and want to convey the message to the Minister of State that if he proceeds with compulsory purchase orders in the same way as is being done at present - without communication or information, bulldozing in on top of people - he is in for a rough ride. It will be difficult to get the land needed for those roads. I ask the Minister of State to have a fresh look at the matter. Return to Media Centre

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