Vol. 417 No. 6
146 Mr. Garland asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the statement by the then Minister of State at the Department of Education that legislation in this country regarding rights of way is not as effective as that in England; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
While the principle of a public right of way in both Ireland and England derives from the same common law foundation, the practical application of that basic principle has evolved in very different ways over the centuries and not just since independence. The result of this is that Irish law essentially recognises one concept of a public right of way, that is a right of the public to pass and re-pass whether over a public road or any other public right of way. In England, apart from highways (public roads), there are a number of categories of public rights of way (pathways, bridleways, byways), each distinguished from the other. The result is that while there is an extensive network of non-road public rights of way throughout England, in Ireland by contrast the length of the public road network per head of population is over four times that of the United Kingdom.
In this country, any citizen at present can take an action in the courts to stop or prevent interference with a public right of way. The law in this regard will be considerably strengthened on the enactment of the Roads Bill, 1991, which is currently before the House. This will make it an offence to obstruct, impede or otherwise interfere with a public right of way, subject to a maximum fine of up to £1,000 and/or six months imprisonment. I plan to table an amendment to the Bill to make it a duty of local authorities to assert the right of the public to use public rights of way.
