Good sense is beginning to prevail on the question of walker access to the countryside, suggests John O'Dwyer
Seventy-five years ago this month, Barry Rothman was released from prison. His crime was leading 400 protesters to the summit of Kinder Scout - an English mountain that had been closed to recreational users by the Duke of Devonshire.
Public sympathy soon swung behind Rothman and his actions proved a watershed for attitudes to countryside access. The Kinder trespass is now widely credited with initiating an unstoppable movement for recreational admission to the British countryside that spawned the Countryside Act, which obliged local authorities to map rights-of-way and make these available for leisure users. And the recent Countryside and Rights of Way Act went further, creating a legal right to roam freely across open, uncultivated land areas.
No such certainty exists in Ireland. Someone owns every square metre of the landscape and there is no obligation to allow public admission. There is, of course, de facto access to most upland areas, where landowners have taken no steps to hinder public use.
This "Irish solution to an Irish problem" has not offered the sound marketing platform on which the hospitality industry could build a vibrant walking tourism segment. And Ireland's welcoming image has been further tarnished by a growing number of "Keep Out "and "No-Admittance" signs which have mushroomed.
While the decade from 1993 to 2003 saw the number of overseas visitors to Ireland double, those coming on walking holidays almost halved, falling from an annual 323,000 to 168,000. And as the access debate became increasingly acrimonious, Rothman-style protests began occurring in Ireland, notably near an access flashpoint on the Old Head of Kinsale and more recently at Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
Until recently a solution seemed no nearer. Farming organisations continued to demand direct payment for allowing access, while Rural Minister Éamon O'Cuív refused to set such a precedent.
Then in July, with the general election safely over, a report commissioned by Mr O'Cuív increased the pressure subtly on the farming organisations. Suddenly it was discovered that there was actually no constitutional impediment to crossing private land - with or without the owner's consent. IFA president Padraig Walshe described these conclusions "as an outrageous assault on property rights". A solution seemed no nearer.
Nevertheless, with public opinion appearing to turn against the perceived intransigence of the farming organisations and the veiled threat of British-style access legislation, farmer attitudes softened somewhat. And so some days ago, Mr O'Cuív announced a breakthrough in negotiations, with an agreement in principle that landowners would be offered annual payments of up to €3,000 for maintaining walkways routed through their land.
This announcement comes as welcome news. For too long farmers have been excluded - and indeed excluding themselves - from the benefits of rural tourism, while agriculture continued its seemingly unstoppable decline. Farmers are an essential part of maintaining the landscape fit for recreational use, but heretofore they have not been stakeholders in the process. The proposed walkways scheme is voluntary with a maximum payment of €3,000 - but it remains to be seen if this will entice farmers.
Can farmers allowing access be protected fully from the threat of litigation? What about those informal routes that allow walkers enter onto mountain areas? Must these now be designated as official walkways and what if the landowner involved is not attracted by these payments? Could demands for a higher remuneration be used as an excuse to close routes?
Legally imposed access would not have been in the interest of landowners, hillwalkers or indeed the Government. Within the patchwork of Irish small landholding, it would almost certainly have proven - like the British ban on fox hunting - unworkable and divisive.
Thankfully, good sense prevailed and we now have the first glimmer of consensus on the issue. Clarification is now required on the precise working of the walkways scheme, along with measures to ensure that farmers benefit directly from the commercial opportunities arising from increased walking tourism. In return, agricultural organisations must bow to the inevitable.
The Irish landscape is part of our shared heritage and all of us have a right to reasonable and responsible levels of access.
John O'Dwyer is a keen mountain climber with 20 years' experience of leading hillwalking groups in the Irish mountains