Access to the countryside

Sir, – I’m delighted that Ken Cowley (Letters, August 30th) got so much pleasure running in the Dublin Mountains during his recent stay in Dublin. He is correct that Dublin city benefits from having such a wonderful facility on its doorstep.

Unfortunately all is not well in terms of access to our mountains, countryside, lakes and seashore. Due to the lack of robust legislation, most access is permissive which means it can be withdrawn. This is not just a theoretical situation. Access to beaches and walkways is regularly being blocked. There are numerous examples of this all over the country from Wicklow to Kerry and Donegal. Lack of appropriate law makes it very difficult to fight these closures and blockages.

To give an example, Keep Ireland Open, which is campaigning for legislation guaranteeing access, is organising a protest at Wicklow Head on September 16th next at 2pm because the access path is regularly being blocked. A similar problem has arisen down the road in Arklow where an obstruction is blocking access to the North Beach.

It doesn’t have to be like that. I’ve just returned from a holiday in Sweden which has amazing access all over the place for both walkers and cyclists. The UK, our nearest neighbour, also puts us to shame.