Quinn tells of farmers 'roaring' at walkers

The former Labour leader, Mr Ruairí Quinn, has spoken of his experience of the "ranting, foaming, raging anger of aggressive and intimidating farmers who have screamed and roared at people, including women and young children".

Mr Quinn, a member of Keep Ireland Open, was speaking during a debate on a Green Party private members' Bill to make the listing of rights-of-way a mandatory part of county development plans.

The Bill was rejected by 80 votes to 58.

The Labour TD said that hill walkers wanted the right to roam as distinct from rights of way, and he acknowledged the "legitimate concerns" of farming communities, "particularly when one reads the judgment handed down in the Donegal case".

He added: "If this happened to me, I would be incensed."

A woman who sustained elbow and leg injuries after falling down a cliff at a Co Donegal beauty spot was awarded damages of more than €84,000. She was found to be 25 per cent negligent and the landowner was 75 per cent negligent.

"Whatever about the validity of the woman's claim - the judgment in the case is under appeal - it has understandably helped to transform the debate in this country," Mr Quinn said.

Later, the Minister for Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, said that while the outcome of the appeal was awaited, tourism was very important to the regions and was becoming increasingly so, and it was important that a welcome be extended to visitors.

He was responding to Fine Gael's tourism spokesman, Mr Jimmy Deenihan, who pointed out that more walkers visited Ireland than golfers last year - a figure of 168,000 as compared to 133,000 golfers.

During the debate on the Bill, the Green Party chairman, Mr John Gormley, said the Government had claimed it wanted to avoid confrontation, controversy and force on the issue of rights of way.

These were "fine words" but not in keeping with the Government's record.

He asked where was the dialogue when "foisting a waste plan on a community and giving them incinerators".

Mr Gormley said "it does not require a giant leap of imagination to envisage a sub-committee of the National Roads Authority charging tolls on the hills at some future date".

Mr Barry Andrews (Fianna Fáil, Dún Laoghaire) pointed out that of a total of 28 new public rights of way created in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown county development plan, "14 are now before the Circuit Court".

Mr Charlie O'Connor (Fianna Fáil, Dublin South-West) had encountered numerous cases in his constituency where rights of way "have become centres of anti-social behaviour and a nightmare for local residents".

Mr Paudge Connolly (Ind, Cavan-Monaghan) said there were many problems surrounding access. Hillwalkers could no longer visit parts of mountain ranges, and archaeologists could no longer visit important megalithic tombs.

"Bird watchers are increasingly cautious about walking through areas in which they want to study birds. Even beaches are not immune to the problem," Mr Connolly said.

Mr Martin Ferris (Sinn Féin, Kerry North) said that the protection of rights of way has "more to do with the growth of other forms of private property".

He was referring in particular "to golf courses, hotels and so on, where large chunks of the countryside are removed from public access, often with little or no benefit to the community in which they happen to be situated".