A total of 33 walking routes in Co Wicklow which are used each year by thousands of hill-walkers have been deleted from Wicklow's county development plan.
The routes include some of the best-known walking paths in the county, including a section of the Wicklow Way, and several close to Glendalough.
Many link on to paths in the State-owned Wicklow National Park, which covers much of the Wicklow Mountains.
At a council meeting yesterday councillors heard that up to 20 of the routes may be restored to the development plan as "agreed routes" by June of this year, when a committee examining issues between landowners and walkers makes its final report.
But the chairman of a council committee, Cllr Pat Vance (FF), told the members he was aware that the access routes in the plan contained some flaws, including the listing of Route 19 from Glenmalure via Table Mountain to Knickeen, which crossed the Army training-ground at the Glen Of Imaal in west Wicklow. The Glen of Imaal is also used by the Army as a shell firing range.
The Irish Farmers' Association has campaigned for the delisting of the routes, claiming that farmers and land-owners were not consulted about inclusion of the routes in the development plan.
The issue has provoked the anger of local and nationally based walking groups, and the campaign body, Keep Ireland Open, which claims rights of way exist as a matter of law and that local authorities have a duty to protect access to them.
Already in north Wicklow walkers have been involved in physical confrontations over routes which the walkers claimed were rights of way.
Proposing their deletion from the Wicklow county development plan, Cllr Christopher Fox (Ind) said the 33 routes had initially come before the council last July.
"The council was of the opinion that they be deleted," he said, adding that a committee had been set up to examine the issues involved between landowners, farmers and walkers.
"There has been a lot of misinformation about this and I think we should allow the committee to get on with its business. The committee is meeting at the moment. It is dealing with the issues," Cllr Fox said.
The chairman of the committee, Cllr Pat Vance, said the committee had met some of the parties involved, including the Wicklow Uplands Council "and four to six routes are 90 per cent agreed".
Cllr Vance said the "attitude" was one of consensus-building and the committee was "very,very pleased with its work so far".
There was, he acknowledged, "a huge benefit to the community" from the presence of walking routes and the committee "will talk to recreational users as well" over the coming months.
He said he had no doubt that "a significant number of the 33" could be restored.
Glendalough hotelier Cllr Pat Casey (Ind) told the meeting that the walking routes were beneficial to tourism and he was looking forward to the routes being restored to the development plan in June. In the meantime, however, he had identified three routes - at Wicklow Head, Brittas Bay, and at Arklow head/Clogga Bay which he suggested should also be taken out "so everything is treated in the same way".
This was rejected by acting county manager Bryan Doyle who said amendments to the development plan, other than those of which notice had been given, were outside the councillors' powers.
Acting chairman Cllr Andrew Doyle (FG), a member of the committee examining the issues, said insurance for landowners had emerged as a major issue but could be "addressed" by the council.
Other issues included access across land as opposed to access to wander on farms; a code of conduct; and a recreational strategy.
Referring to the restoration of agreed routes in the development, Cllr Doyle said: "It will be a different policy I've no doubt that we can have up to 20 back in by June."