The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has engaged in a smash-and-grab raid on the public purse. And, with its national road building programme in jeopardy and a general election looming, the resistance of the Government crumbled. The cost of the additional concessions to farmers whose land will be acquired in order to build five motorways from Dublin to various parts of the country, has been estimated at £80m to £200m. The number of farmers and landowners likely to benefit has been put at 8,000, giving an average tax-deferred windfall of £10-£25,000.
The outgoing president of the IFA, Mr Tom Parlon, confessed himself satisfied that the result had provided his members with fair payment for land taken for roads. But the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) is now looking for more, in spite of its public recognition that the National Roads Authority (NRA) was already paying over the odds for compulsory purchases.
There is no doubt that elements of the Compulsory Purchase Scheme required reform and modernisation. But the confrontational manner in which the IFA pursued its goals has been severely criticised on the grounds that it delayed the roads programme for a year and temporarily derailed part of the National Development Plan.
Because of the concessions made to farmers, it is likely that road building will be scaled back during the remaining five years of the National Development Plan. The hugely ambitious programme of the NRA was already under pressure because of inflation in the construction industry. Even before last week's deal with the IFA, costs had overrun by £95m. And while the extra £200m earmarked for farmers may be spread over five years, the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, has indicated that in the worsening economic climate, spending targets - rather than road completion targets - are likely to take precedence.
The campaign of obstruction orchestrated by the IFA and the ICMSA, where NRA officials were not allowed onto land to conduct planning surveys, flew in the face of social partnership. Given the manner in which all sections of society responded to the difficulties of farmers during the foot-and-mouth outbreak earlier this year, it has sent an unfortunate message.