This article is from page 4 of the 2007-07-31 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
that landowners would be compen- sated for any delays in resolving cas-
es and that efforts were being made to speed up the process.
“In the event that agreement can- not be reached on the compensation to be paid, the landowners or the local authority may refer the claim for non-binding assessment under the 2001 agreement and look to the Statutory Arbitrator whose decision is final and binding,” he said.
“The local authority is entitled to enter onto the land following service of the Notice To Treat and subse- quent Notice of Entry on the expira- tion of 14 days notice. Once the local authority has entered onto land, in- terest on the eventual compensation
becomes payable.
This provision is designed to pro- tect the landowner’s interest. The longer cases take to settle, the more money will be paid as interest, there- by giving the local authority a pow- erful incentive to deal with cases as quickly as possible.”
The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) had stated their wish for a defi- nite time structure to be put in place for disputes to be resolved. The NRA have agreed to work towards this.
“The NRA has proposed the intro- duction of a clear timetable for all stages of the process in an effort to resolve outstanding compensation
claims more quickly and make pay- ments to landowners. The authority has allocated funding to Clare Coun- ty Council to meet such payments.
“Land values are assessed having regard to comparable land sales in the area – the local authority adopts an open and transparent approach to the comparable used and makes the information concerned available to valuers acting for landowners,” said Mr Fagan.
In addition to the cost of the land, compensation can also be paid to landowners for any disturbance or injurious that emerge as a result of O OKs