Madam, - A report in your edition of March 15th, coupled with the vague terms of the relevant section of the Co Wicklow Development Plan, might lead readers to think that the Wicklow Way - or any of the other 32 "access routes" listed in the plan - might be closed. This is not the case.
The reason given for deleting the additional "access routes" added in the current draft plan was that access had not been agreed with the landowners involved. The Wicklow Way has been in the development plan for years; all the landowners, public and private, have given permission for the stretch across their property, and all the private landowners have been indemnified against any claim by a user of the way.
It is not a right of way, it is a "permissive path" and landowners may withdraw permission after giving reasonable notice.
The phrasing of the development plan listing rights of way and access routes together may lead people to believe that an "access route" confers some right of usage by the public. The legal opinion, which we have received, is clear - no Right of Way can exist unless designated by the owner. Hence "permissive paths" and "access routes" cannot be converted into rights of way by the simple decision of a local authority, unless of course it is prepared to buy them and thus become the owner.
I hope this explanation will reassure the public on the continued freedom to use the Wicklow Way, the oldest long-distance waymarked walk in the State. - Yours, etc.,
JOSS LYNAM,
Chairman, National Waymarked Ways Advisory Committee,
Irish Sports Council,
Dublin 2.