Limerick County Council has confirmed that it is to appoint a second liaison officer for the Adare to Foynes road scheme.
The commitment was given during a recent meeting between the local authority and a delegation from the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
During the meeting with senior council engineers and officials, Limerick IFA chair Sean Lavery outlined the concerns of farmers about the new 35km roadway.
The road project will impact 200 landowners, of which 107 are active farmers.
Liaison officer
The Limerick IFA chair spoke of the need for a code of practice; an additional liaison officer and better communication with landowners.
The meeting discussed fencing issues; the conduct of sub-contractors and concerns around land values.
Lavery also raised the IFA’s agreement with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) covering compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) for road infrastructure.
“The council agreed to write to all farmers providing contact information of the project liaison officer, including mobile phone details, a copy of the IFA/TII roads agreement, a copy of the code of practice and an update on the various time lines for the project,” he said.
IFA Infrastructure Project Team chair Paul O’Brien said that it is essential that all farmers on the roadway have access to this information so their rights are fully protected.
“The council accepted the need to appoint another liaison officer to work on the project and assured the IFA that this is being pursued.
“Good communication is key in the early stages of a project and it is essential that all the farmers on the route are well informed.
“The council explained that they currently have one liaison officer working on the project and some engineers assisting with this work.
“The council also agreed to provide quarterly updates on the project,” he said.
Limerick County Council committed to addressing issues around some sub-contractors not following the rules in relation to maintaining boundary stock proof fencing, access and working at night.
The council said that it has no rule in setting land values as part of the road project; this is the role of valuers.
It was also clarified that the €6,500 per acre fixed ‘goodwill’ payment in the IFA/TII agreement is totally separate and is not part of the land valuation.
Limerick
The Foynes to Limerick road project, which includes the Adare Bypass, was approved by An Bord Pleanála in August 2022.
This approval was subsequently challenged by means of three separate judicial review proceedings before the High Court.
Following discussions between Limerick City and County Council and the three applicants, these proceedings were withdrawn from the High Court.
The project includes 15.6km of dual carriageway from Foynes to Rathkeale, along with the construction of approximately 17.5km of motorway to connect Rathkeale to the existing motorway network at Attyflin.
The Adare Bypass will remove in the region of 70 – 80% of the 17,000 vehicles currently passing through the village on a daily basis.
The next phase of work will involve archaeological testing of the lands on the route with priority on the Attyflin to Croagh section.
The council expect to have building contractors on the ground for this section by the end of this year and to have it completed by mid-2027.