Council refutes CPO ‘coercion’ claim

Clare County Council has refuted claims it effectively engaged in “coercion” during negotiations concerning the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the proposed €40 million Shannon Bridge Crossing in Killaloe.

 

Speaking at the first day of an oral hearing concerning the CPO and Environmental Impact Statement, Richard Rea of Martin and Rea Agricultural Consultants, Tipperary, also alleged that Clare County Council had failed to properly engage with a number of representations he made on behalf of Killaloe and Ballina landowners last May.

Mr Rea also alleged the council had stated it would only pay a fee to the consultants if they withdrew its objections on behalf of its clients before Tuesday, October 9.

He stated the council had only responded to his detailed submissions last week four months after they were submitted last May.

These claims were not challenged by any county council official or representative, who subsequently acted on behalf of the council during the hearing dealing with issues concerning the CPO and Environmental Impact Statement.

The Clare Champion also sent a list of the points raised by Mr Rea at the hearing to the council, which wasn’t in a position to comment last week.

Speaking to The Clare Champion on Tuesday after the seventh day of the oral hearing, senior engineer, Tom Tiernan refuted these claims, which he described as “ludicrous”.

He said the council wasn’t in a position to engage directly with individual property owners, as it wasn’t deemed appropriate during two periods of public consultations and had to stand back until these two periods had ended.

He told The Clare Champion the council had met with Mr Rea, who represented a large number of property owners affected by the CPO, when it was appropriate to do so.

“Clare County Council is proposing a project concerning the development of the Shannon Bridge Crossing, Killaloe Bypass and upgrading of the Ballina to Birdhill regional road.

“At the end of the day, people are affected by this development and I have a responsibility to ensure that matters are dealt with fairly.

“Clare County Council is engaging in discussions with property owners and their agents concerning the impact of the scheme on their landholding outside the oral hearing.

“I refute the substance of the statement made by Mr Rea at the hearing completely. It is ludicrous. Since the start of the CPO procedure, we have been involved in negotiations, which we endeavoured to conduct in a fair manner and we have given every possible co-operation to that end,” he said.