€36m paid to landowners as Adare bypass aims for Ryder Cup deadline
Gordon Deegan
Limerick County Council has to date paid out €36.03 million to landowners as part of the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) of lands on the route of the new road scheme in Co Limerick that includes the €150 million Adare bypass project.
Work is continuing on the Adare bypass part of the overall scheme, with Limerick Co Council confirming that the Adare bypass "is progressing steadily and remains firmly on programme for completion in June 2027” ahead of the Ryder Cup due to take place in September of next year.
The Adare bypass project consists of 7km of new motorway between the Adare and Croagh junctions and work commenced on the scheme in January 2025 after Sisk Sorensen Joint Venture secured the Adare Bypass Design and Construction Contract in December 2024.
The Adare by-pass is part of the larger €450 million 35km in length Foynes to Limerick Rd scheme from the N69 at Shannon-Foynes Port to the existing N21/M20 at Patrickswell to the east of Adare via the towns of Askeaton and Rathkeale.
An Coimisiún Pleanala approved the Foynes to Limerick Rd - including Adare Bypass - in August 2022 and work finally commenced on the Adare by-pass aspect of the overall scheme in January 2025 in order to end the daily grid-lock in the west Limerick village in time for the Ryder Cup.
The total extent of land acquired through the CPO for the overall scheme totals almost 1,000 acres and the route impacts up to 200 landholdings, including 105 farms.
During the CPO process for the overall proposal, 122 objections were made from affected landowners and at the time of finalising ACP inspector’s report, 34 objections from 29 parties remained.
In response to a Freedom of Information request, the council confirmed that €36.03 million has been paid out to date to landowners as part of the approved CPO process for the Foynes to Limerick Road (including Adare Bypass) scheme.
However, the council’s FOI unit has refused to release further details of payments to landowners.
The council refused to say how many landowners have received payments and the aggregate acreage that has been purchased as “this information is being refused as to release the number of landowners and the amount paid out to date has the potential to impact negatively on the remaining cases, and the amount of compensation yet to be paid on average per landowner and per acre”.
The council also refused to release the number of payments made to landowners in certain bands as the FOI unit concluded “as to release the number of payments made under each band would disclose personal information of an identifiable individual”.
The FOI stated that although the records do not expressly name individuals, the release of the amounts paid, when considered in the context of the request and information already in the public domain, has the potential to identify individuals concerned.
As part of a 506-page report, the ACP inspector in the case, Patricia Calleary found that the CPO would result in the acquisition/demolition of nine homes including two that are not inhabited and the property owners “would suffer profound to significant residual impacts”.
Calleary cited the example of one couple who would lose their family home of 20 years and chose to live at the location close to the River Maigue, because of their deep connection with nature and for medical and other reasons.
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