A delegation from the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) met with executives from Cork and Waterford county councils this week to discuss farmer concerns around the Mallow-Dungarvan Greenway project.

The meeting also included Atkins Consultants, the firm involved in designing the greenway project.

The proposed 74km greenway is set to connect Dungarvan in Co. Waterford to Mallow in Co. Cork, linking the towns and villages of Cappoquin; Lismore; Ballyduff; Clondulane; Fermoy; Ballyhooly; and Killavullen.

It is proposed that the route of the project will follow the old Dungarvan to Mallow railway line.

The IFA delegation was led by the association’s environment chairperson Paul O’Brien, and included North Cork Executive chairperson Pat O’Keefe and Waterford County Executive chairperson John Heffernan.

They were joined by the environmental representatives from both county executives – Tony Mullins (North Cork) and John Joe Byrne (Waterford).

Speaking after the meeting, O’Brien said it had been “very useful”, with the IFA outlining to the project team the fears and concerns of farmers in the area, who are worried over the impact the greenway will have on their farm businesses.

The project team updated the IFA on the feasibility study that it is currently carrying out for the development.

This study is expected to be finalised by quarter one (Q1) of 2023. Before that there will be a second public consultation in November and December this year.

The final report, when released, is expected to include a preferred route and full cost analysis.

The IFA highlighted that most of the old railway line that will form the route of the greenway is no longer in public ownership and parts of it have been purchased by farmers over the years.

“Many farmers now own and use the railway line as part of their farms, with many developments around private houses and farmyards.

“This makes the project much more complex compared to using a railway line or other land that is in public ownership,” O’Brien highlighted.

The IFA team said that it was opposed to any breakup of farmland or compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) for amenity projects such as greenways.

“The IFA has negotiated a code of best practice for greenways with the government and both of these issues are well flagged in the code,” O’Brien said.

“[Breakup] of farmland has to be avoided where at all possible and voluntary land purchase agreements have to take precedent over CPOs.”

According to the IFA, the project team said that it would be implementing the code of best practice in terms of this project.

Other issues the farm organisation raised during the meeting included the loss of farmer privacy; land crossings; litter; the possibility of animal disease and welfare issues; and the appointment of an independent agronomist that would be available to farmers.

“Full and proper consultation with farmers is critical to develop any infrastructural project. I would caution the project promoters not to make the same mistake as some other county councils on greenway projects, where they have lost the confidence of the farmer landowners,” O’Brien argued.