Sir, – The peculiar claim of Bill Bailey (December 22nd) that Ireland is exceptional in never having had an abundance of rural footpaths is untenable. However, many of the old ways our grandparents walked have been lost in recent decades. These ways need to be revived, protected and added to through progressive thinking and comprehensive legislation. This is necessary to give Irish people the same walking rights in their own country as we find in neighbouring ones.
In the late 1980s, Wicklow County Council worked with Fás to survey walking routes in one relatively small corner of the county – from Glencree east to the sea, and from Newtownmountkennedy north to the border of Co Dublin. In just that part of the county, they found and documented 110 rights of way (their phrase) then in use, and all verified by local people. If a small area can have so many routes, it is reasonable to assume that there are, or were, tens of thousands throughout the country. They are rapidly being lost, however, with no legislative protection at present. Of the 110 routes identified in the northeast corner of Wicklow just a quarter of a century ago, many have since been blocked by landowners, been built on or become overgrown.
Those who oppose the need for legislation point, like Seán Ó Suilleabháin (December 23rd), to “the nationwide network of walking trails” developed by the National Trails Office. However, the mere 44 trails he refers to cannot be regarded as a “network” as understood internationally, or by our tourist competitors. To take just one fairly routine county across the water, Herefordshire alone has 4,415 registered rights-of-way, covering 3,360 km. That is what is meant by a network. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN WARNER,
Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
Sir, – In reply to John Mulligan (December 23rd), I wish to agree with him concerning the importance of keeping control over current publicly owned lands such as the defunct Claremorris-Colooney rail line he mentions. I also agree with him about the need to have local public support for the development of rural pathways.
A key element of my Access to the Countryside Bill is that, if enacted, local county councils would be the organisations to decide on the location of pathways. That is included because they, rather than central government, would have a much better idea as to what would be acceptable locally. A key reason for my Bill is the need to provide legal certainty over access to pathways. While some very laudable progress has been made in relation to voluntarily opening up access, some very important access points depend on the sheer decency of individual landowners. For future generations more certainty is required.
The basic aim of my Bill is to lead to a win-win situation where tourists and Irish people can walk in the countryside in a responsible way while the local economy benefits. – Yours, etc,
ROBERT DOWDS, TD
Leinster House, Dublin 2.