€36,000 an acre paid for 'low-hope' land

Farmers in the mid-west have received more than €36,000 per acre for land with "low hope" development value from the National Roads Authority (NRA).

The payments, made under the 2001 deal between the Irish Farmers Association and the Government, show that when the separate compensation categories of goodwill, injurious affection, severance, disturbance and "new for old" buildings are included, the initial price paid for land in the mid-west rose by a multiple of five before compensation was agreed.

However, in a number of cases, particularly over lands required for the Fermoy by-pass in Co Cork and the Carrickmacross by-pass in Co Monaghan, the proposed payments were deemed insufficient by farmers.

In test cases to come before a new arbitration system to get under way within weeks, farmers argue that their deal with the Government allows them to take into account the value of similar parcels of land in the locality - even development land which bears full planning permission.

The farmers maintain that under Paragraph 10 of their agreement the compensation they may receive should take into account the price of a similar amount of land locally. Some have argued that the only available land in the area is development land where a farmer is selling sites.

The Irish Times understands that some farmers have made submissions, backed up by valuers and professional property consultants, that on this basis they should be paid development land prices for their land.

The NRA has told the Department of Transport it is opposed to this interpretation of the paragraph which, it says, was put into the deal to get an aggregate value of local land and not the most expensive development land. Although the NRA was a signatory to the IFA deal, it was precluded from the final talks.

Since it was signed in 2001, "medium-hope" value in the mid-west has been valued at more than €54,000. Land with "high-hope" value was acquired at just under €64,000.

Should agreement not be reached on the test cases before the new arbitration system, which is non-binding, the way would be open for the cases to be referred to the State's normal arbitration compulsory purchase system which is binding.

Recent cases under the compulsory purchase system have given awards of more than €220,000 per acre for land required for the Ennis by-pass in Co Clare. In Sligo, compensation payments made more than €628,000 per acre for non-zoned land with "hope value" for a commercial zoning.