Roads Act, 1993

Acquisition of land and implementation of scheme.

52.—(1) Whenever the Minister approves a scheme (with or without modifications) under section 49 , the road authority shall thereupon be authorised to compulsorily acquire any land or any rights in relation to land specified in the approved scheme and, for that purpose, the scheme shall have the same effect as if it were a compulsory purchase order in respect of that land or any rights in relation to land which, consequent on a decision made by the road authority, pursuant to section 10 (1) of the Local Government (No. 2) Act, 1960 (as inserted by section 86 of the Housing Act, 1966 ), had been duly made and confirmed.

(2) Whenever the Minister approves a scheme (with or without modifications) the road authority shall thereupon be authorised to close, stop up, remove, alter, divert or restrict an existing means of direct access (including access from a public road) to a motorway or a busway or a protected road from any land as specified in the approved scheme or from any land to a motorway or a busway or a protected road.

(3) In any case where the closing, stopping up, removing, altering, diverting or restricting of an existing means of direct access under subsection (2) results in the owner of any land being deprived of the only means of access from that land to any public road or to that land from a public road, the road authority shall not close, stop up, remove, alter, divert or restrict such means of access until an alternative means of access to or from a public road has been provided.

(4) Whenever, by reason of the approval of a scheme (with or without modifications) by the Minister, direct access from any land to a public road or to any land from a public road is prohibited, closed, stopped up, removed, altered, diverted or restricted, any person who has suffered damage in consequence thereof by the depreciation of any interest in the land to which he is entitled or by being disturbed in his enjoyment of that land, shall be entitled to recover from the road authority compensation in respect of that damage:

Provided that in assessing compensation regard shall be had to any new means of access provided by the road authority and where appropriate to any existing means of access (whether restricted or otherwise) which remains.

(5) A claim for compensation under subsection (4) shall be made not later than six months after the date on which the scheme to which it relates was approved by the Minister and shall, in default of agreement, be determined by arbitration under the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919 , in the like manner in all respects as if such claim arose in relation to the compulsory acquisition of land, but subject to the proviso that the arbitrator shall have jurisdiction to make a nil award.

(6) A claim for compensation may be made in relation to a planning permission which is revoked or modified under a scheme approved by the Minister under section 49 as if the revocation or modification had been made by notice under section 30 of the Act of 1963, and for the purposes of section 17 of the Act of 1990, the road authority which made the scheme shall be deemed to be the planning authority.