Michelle McIlveen said:
“The outcome of the judicial review on the A5 road scheme has understandably caused great upset and annoyance to those families and campaigners who have long championed this project in the name of road safety. This is a deeply disappointing and difficult ruling for them.
However, the judgment has also caused significant distress and uncertainty for landowners and farm families whose livelihoods have been placed in limbo for well over a decade. Land has been vested, groundwork has been undertaken, and disruption has occurred – seemingly all at risk – while the legal process continued. Farmers are now left asking: what happens next?
There must be immediate clarity from the Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins. Will the vesting orders now be rescinded? Will farmers be compensated for the destruction of their land and the loss of business? I have also through the DAERA Committee asked that DAERA urgently engage with affected farmers to advise if their application for farm payments can be amended if the Vesting Orders are quashed, given the land was taken, no payments paid to them by DfI and they have now lost the ability to claim Single Farm Payment for that land this year through no fault of their own.
This is a mess and Sinn Fein need to take responsibility. It is they who have lead the Infrastructure Department, and they who must now provide answers. Farmers have been treated disgracefully throughout this process – left in the dark, kept waiting, and now forced to carry the burden of departmental indecision. That cannot continue.
I welcome the clarity provided by DAERA that Single Farm Payments will not be reduced due to map inaccuracies arising from DfI’s failure to provide up-to-date mapping. That reassurance is essential, but it highlights the wider confusion and lack of coordination across government on this issue.
Landowners, farmers and rural communities have been left in chaos by a scheme that because of the climate fanaticism of some is now in limbo. It was SF, SDLP and Alliance who supported the move to net zero by 2050 despite our warnings that stalling infrastructure projects like this would be the consequence. The Infrastructure Minister must urgently engage with those affected and provide the answers and certainty they deserve. It’s time for action, not more delay."