New adjustments around the eligibility of Local Improvement Schemes could see hundreds of local farmers excluded from the process.
That's the fear of County Councillor Paddy O'Rourke who raised the issue at this month's meeting of Leitrim County Council following the opening of the application process for the local works.
Cllr O'Rourke told the meeting that if land is adjoined by both a lane under a LIS application and a public road, the farmer would be told to access land via the public route.
He believes this will see more land owners excluded from the scheme, than included
Speaking to Shannonside FM News, the Fianna Fail Councillor also raised concerns over qualifying landowners losing their eligibility by the time their road is worked on.
"There's strong evidence to suggest that a person who is eligible today, 2022, because there are 2 active farmers on the laneway and an occupied house, by the time their number comes up in maybe 3 or 4 years time, and the scheme is being looked at intensely at that stage because it's imminent, they may very well not be eligible by then because someone may have sold on their land holding, or they may have rearranged ownership within family structures".
