The dispute between the National Roads Authority and the Irish Farmers' Association moved a step closer to resolution yesterday as the IFA made its pre-Budget submission to the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy.
According to the IFA president, Mr Tom Parlon, one of the key issues which has held up major road development was clarified yesterday at their meeting in Government Buildings.
The IFA had been seeking the right to reinvest compensation for compulsory acquisition (CPU) of lands for road in businesses other than farming without incurring any liability to capital gains tax.
"The Minister told us that compensation could be invested in any business or trade without liability and this was news to us because we had been seeking to have this introduced so farmers who were considering leaving farming could invest in other businesses," Mr Parlon said.
Mr Parlon, who has been leading the discussions to find a solution for the 8,000 farmers who will lose 25,000 acres of land to road development, said he regarded what had happened as a positive step towards a full resolution of the dispute which has seen farmers prevent any kind of pre-development work on their lands.
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association, which also made its submission yesterday, asked the Minister to remove all tax on CPO compensation in order to remove tax credit discrimination on farm families.
The ICMSA president, Mr Pat O'Rourke, said no farmer ever sought a CPO on his or her lands because in many cases they substantially reduced the viability of a holding. "For that reason we believe that no Capital Gains Tax should apply on the proceeds of lands acquired under a CPO."