Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2012
452 Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he intends to introduce legislation to provide a clear definition of the proof needed to establish a public right of way; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28423/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra453 Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his view on whether the recent Enniskerry, County Wicklow, right of way ruling sets such a high standard of proof for establishing the existence of a public right of way that it effectively abolished nearly all walking routes which would have been considered rights of way up to now; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28424/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 452 and 453 together.
Section 14 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides for a process for the inclusion by planning authorities of public rights of way in development plans. The process provides for the referral to the Circuit Court, by the landowner affected, of a proposal to include a right of way and where the court is satisfied that no right of way exists, the planning authority may not include it in its development plan. Section 14(7) provides that "the inclusion of a public right of way in a development plan shall be evidence of the existence of such a right unless the contrary is shown".
The question of whether a public right of way exists is therefore ultimately a matter for the courts to determine.
Ireland's Waymarked trails and the majority of other walking routes are "permissive access routes" that have been developed with the landowners' agreement; they are not public rights of way. Accordingly, the recent ruling regarding rights of way is not expected to have any significant impact on the existing network of permissive access routes currently available to walkers.
The State's involvement in Rural Recreation developed against the backdrop of significant difficulties at key walking destinations during the 1990s, including, inter alia, issues regarding access to trails, many of which traversed private lands. In this context, Comhairle Na Tuaithe (the Countryside Council) was established January 2004 to address the three priority issues of:
access to the countryside;
developing a countryside code; and
Developing a National Countryside Recreation Strategy.
It comprises representatives of the farming organisations, recreational users of the countryside and state bodies with an interest in the countryside. From this the National Countryside Recreation Strategy was published in 2006. Access to the countryside which had proven to be an ongoing problem for private landowners, state landholders, recreational users and tourists alike has been progressed though the efforts of Comhairle na Tuaithe and the introduction of the Walks Scheme in 2008.
With regard to access to the countryside, An Expert Group reported to the then Minister in May 2007. It did not set out specific recommendations but examined existing legislation and explored the implications of introducing legislation, such as granting a right of access to recreational users. It was determined that the best way forward was to develop permissive access with the agreement of landholders The consensus approach adopted is underpinned by the principle of mutual respect between landowners and recreation users, with the acceptance of the rights of landowners over access to their land and the need of recreation users to have reasonable access to the countryside. The report by the Expert Group established to examine and make recommendations on "the Legal Issues of Land Access for Recreational Use" is available on my Department's website.http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/Community/Rural Development/FileDownLoad,27109,en.doc.
