Ms Carol Coad:

Good morning Chair and committee members. Thank you for having us here today. It is a bit of an honour, and we are grateful for the invitation.

I am outdoor recreation strategy activation officer for County Wicklow - it is a bit of a mouthful. I oversee the creation, roll-out and funding of our county's outdoor recreation strategy. We are really proud of Wicklow. It is a gem. With our mountains, rivers, lakes and coastline, we are Ireland's most heavily used county for outdoor recreation. We serve as Dublin's backyard and playground.

In Wicklow, we have had more than ten years of formal outdoor recreation strategy. We began in 2013. Many activities central to the national outdoor recreation strategy are based on our model, strategy, roles and delivery methods. Spearheaded by Wicklow County Council, we established our outdoor recreation committee more than 15 years ago. That group comprises Coillte, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the local authority, the local development company, Wicklow tourism and other and interested parties. We have a number of key stakeholders and interested parties. That has been the cornerstone of the success in managing and developing outdoor recreation in Wicklow.

Our first county strategy in 2013 focused on infrastructure and development. The second, which runs to the end of this year, concentrates on consolidating that resource and making it as good as it can be. The difference now is that the county outdoor recreation plans sit under the local sports partnerships, LSPs, for delivery. We work closely with our LSP, which I chair it. With our third strategy and plan focusing on participation, the close relationship we have with it will help us deliver the best experience for recreation users in the county.

Delivering these strategies has required drawing on multiple funding sources. ORIS remains the primary mechanism but we are also supported by LEADER, dormant innovation funding and contributions from the outdoor recreation committee members.

In the past five years, we have secured €6.4 million. We are waiting for the next ORIS announcement, so we hope that figure will go to over €7 million. This funding has enabled us to deliver significant projects from walking trails and play areas to coastal infrastructure in the county. The success of this reflects the collaborative spirit of Wicklow's land-owning agencies. We are very grateful to the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, LEADER, Sport Ireland and all the partners who have supported us in what we do.

While it is a positive area of work, we face challenges with our funding structures. Up to now, our county strategies were self-driven. We made them and secured the funding to deliver them ourselves. We now have a national directive and a five-year work plan, but without secure funding attached to that. Wicklow, which is the busiest county for outdoor recreation, did not receive funding for an outdoor recreation officer. Instead, we are operating on a 12-to-18-month cycle of ORIS funding. It makes our long-term strategic planning difficult. To list some of the challenges that short cycle creates, we are cannot plan work programmes more than one year or so in advance and our ground works contractors are reluctant to engage with small ad hoc projects, meaning the contractor pool is then limited. This leaves Wicklow and other counties competing for the same few resources. It impairs our scheduling, procurement and project completion. They all suffer.

If funding cycles match the five-year strategic cycle, those difficulties could be easily overcome. With a stable programme, we could create work plans, engage contractors more effectively and deliver consistently. That leads to a broader question: is outdoor recreation now a mainstream activity deserving of fully committed and long-term funding? If we look at the experience in the Wicklow, the answer must be "Yes". With secure funding aligned to our strategy, we could ensure sustainable development, reliable delivery and a stronger outdoor recreation sector for all.

I thank the committee members. I hope that was helpful. I look forward to their questions.