Senator calls on Bord na Móna to "step up" on north Mayo route consultation

Senator Mark Duffy has called on Bord na Móna to halt its approach to a proposed route around Crossmolina and engage properly with the community, after attending a public meeting on the issue on Monday night.

The proposal includes the construction of a 2.7km public amenity track at Crossmolina, along with a permanent bridge across the River Deel.

Senator Duffy said the meeting was attended by over 200 people who are "very dissatisfied" with the proposals.

He described Crossmolina as home to a "vibrant, active community" and said there had been a lack of public consultation on the plan.

"We all have experience of the different projects that are delivered by State or semi-State bodies," Senator Duffy said.

He said he checked his own correspondence and found his last contact with Bord na Móna was in 2024, adding that the body "has had no engagement with the community" since.

He said residents are concerned about the impact of the proposed route, including its effect on biodiversity, and described the lack of consultation as "totally unacceptable and not fair."

Senator Duffy said Bord na Móna, which he acknowledged has "powered the community down through the years," is now at risk of dividing it.

He called on the organisation to engage effectively with residents rather than "using community volunteers as a front to push its own agenda."

"Things need to be done in a consultative way and in a process that listens to people in the community and responds appropriately, not by riding roughshod over a community that has been very facilitative of different projects through the years," he said.

He added that the community "needs to see a return on investment and not be ignored," and called for residents' concerns to be properly facilitated.

The field earmarked for the route is also home to the Crossmolina Agricultural Show, an event Senator Duffy said he attended last year and supports annually, describing it as "a brilliant festival and show" that needs to be protected.

He said volunteers in the community must be respected and engaged with properly, "not in a tick-the-box exercise," and noted that the proposal remains a live planning application.

"Bord na Móna needs to take a step back and get people on board before it tries to move ahead with these proposals," Senator Duffy said.