After years of fruitless negotiation, during which rural-based tourism suffered serious decline, the Minister for Rural, Community and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív, has a responsibility to legislate for free access to mountainous and uncultivated areas.
Established walking routes have been closed off and visitors have been threatened in a highly damaging campaign for compensation led by farm leaders. It is time that clarity and balance was brought to the issue.
Walking and hiking holidays generate about €200 mllion a year in tourism revenues. But, at a time when the activity is growing rapidly in Britain and Europe, numbers visiting Ireland have fallen by an estimated 20 per cent. No local or tourist wants to experience threats or abuse while enjoying the countryside. But that has become an unfortunate reality in some areas. And the word has gone out that Ireland is no longer a welcoming destination for walkers.
A report commissioned by Mr Ó Cuív has confirmed that the State can legislate for recreational access to land without giving landowners a right to seek compensation. It found that a statutory right to roam would be inappropriate near dwelling houses, over cultivated land or through immature plantations. It should, however, be provided on mountains and fields and in existing laneways designed to give access to the sea, mountains, forests or fields without a right to compensation. The document has gone to Comhairle na Tuaite for consideration.
IFA president Pádraig Walshe described this limited right to roam as an assault on constitutional property rights and "tantamount to nationalisation". Such an over-the-top reaction is disappointing. But it reflects the abrasive campaign for special access payments which caused the IFA to threaten to close major hill-walking routes in Cork and Kerry last year.
Private property rights are important. And they should be protected. But the public good has to take precedence when these interests come into conflict. In this instance, the right of Irish citizens and foreign visitors alike to enjoy the open countryside in a responsible way should be clearly established by law. After all, the taxes of these same people will help to fund a €6.8 billion package for the development of farms and rural communities during the next seven years.
The situation has dragged on for too long. Now that the general election is over, Mr Ó Cuív should take account of the public interest and legislate accordingly. If a group of absentee landlords was involved, there would be no question of shilly-shallying.