Compulsory land acquisition compensation ‘inadequate’

SOME of the cost and time overruns on major road works have been blamed on inadequate compensation being offered for land acquired by the National Roads Authority (NRA) through compulsory purchase orders (CPOs).

Agricultural land prices have increased by almost 300% from €4,967 per hectare in 1993 to €16,261 per hectare in 2004, the latest figure available.

But Fine Gael’s agriculture spokesman Denis Naughten said the prices paid to farmers under a CPO had not increased at anything close to the same rate.

“The NRA is in the process of constructing five new motorways linking Dublin to Cork, Galway, the Border, Limerick and Waterford, along with major upgrades on other national roads. “While the new motorways were due to be completed by 2006, it will now take at least three more years and cost an additional €6 billion to complete on top of the current cost of €14bn,” he said.

“These overruns, both in time and cost, can be attributed to the NRA offering inadequate compensation to land owners and then later making improved offers in a scrooge-like manner.”

Mr Naughten said if a straightforward approach had been taken, many farmers would have settled earlier with the result that some oral hearings would have been streamlined.

He said NRA policy was a symptom of the scrooge mentality in the Government which is overseeing farmers’ compensation payments being taxed at a rate of 20% because of the withdrawal of rollover relief.

“This will mean that any farmers who want to replace lands lost due to the CPO will lose one-fifth of their buying power,” he said.