The construction of a new 63km stretch of road will impact 475 property owners and involve the compulsory purchase of 1,470 acres of land by Donegal County Council in association with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).

The impact of the roads project on farmers and landowners will be significant, Donegal IFA chair Joe Sweeney said at a recent Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) meeting in Letterkenny on the Ten T Roads scheme, organised to help and support affected landowners.

Agricultural consultant Richard Rea made a detailed presentation to the meeting covering all aspects of a compensation claim and highlighted areas of difficulty and problems that could arise on road projects.

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They included access, fencing, services, drainage and legal issues related to land ownership, family issues and taxation.

The IFA had negotiated a new and updated Roads Agreement with TII in 2023, which runs to 31 December 2027, IFA infrastructure project team chair Paul O’Brien told the meeting.

“It is essential that Donegal landowners on the Ten T project have the benefits of the IFA/TII agreement, which covers all essential aspects of the CPO and their compensation claim, as well as an additional goodwill payment of €6,500 per acre,” he said.

Residences and commercial properties

The three sections of the Ten T roads project will also require acquiring 34 residences, five vacant properties, and four commercial properties, Kevin Kinsella, adviser to the IFA on infrastructure matters, told the meeting.

The benefits of the IFA/TII agreement were considerable, enabling landowners to have compensation assessed based on the value of the land and injurious affection, including damage to the viability of the farm business, severance, and disturbance, according to Kinsella.

In addition, he said the value of the land would be assessed at its open market value, with reference to and comparison with the actual size, location and quality of the land parcels.

Donegal County Council submitted its planning application and CPO on 14 May and the deadline for submitting objections is this Thursday 10 July.