Sir, – In Jack White’s report on the objections raised by farmers’ organisations in the Oireachtas against the use of compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) for greenways, these vital pieces of infrastructure are repeatedly referred to as “amenities”.
This (incorrect) framing is a reflection of the culture war that obsessively targets any infrastructure that is not centred on cars (“Compulsory purchase orders for greenways ‘fundamentally inappropriate’, farmers’ groups say,” May 7th).
Greenways are roads with special restrictions, and are only amenities to the same extent as any other rural road. They are key pieces of infrastructure which have transformed the communities and areas they serve for the better, over and over again, all across the country.
Greenways offer vital benefits and an economic lifeline to small towns and villages, which have been sucked dry and hollowed out by decades of car dependency. For example, in Cahersiveen, Co Kerry, excitement at the long-awaited arrival of the South Kerry Greenway is palpable, despite the furious decade-long fight the greenway faced from landowners determined to stop it.
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No reasonable person would argue that the Government should build vital infrastructure on land it doesn’t own, allowing the landowner to simply revoke access at will, or adopt excessively circuitous routes to avoid any inconvenience to landowners. Of course a negotiated solution is preferable, but if landowners are determined to prevent any change, CPOs are a perfectly legitimate option.
If CPOs are good enough for a motorway or a railway, they’re good enough for a greenway. – Yours, etc,
RORY CROTTY,
Douglas,
Cork.
