Mr. Aaron Byrne:

I am the rural recreation officer for County Wicklow, a position I have held for two and a half years. I welcome this opportunity to share my experience working within the national outdoor recreation strategy and its related programmes. My work centres on three key areas: the walks scheme; the Wicklow outdoor recreation committee; and the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme.

In the walks scheme in Wicklow, we have 66 participants who currently maintain 32 km of trails across six routes. Collectively, they deliver over 4,700 hours of maintenance annually, representing an investment of approximately €80,000 each year. The Department of rural development is the Department running the programme and is very supportive to all rural recreational officers, RROs, nationwide. We have quarterly meetings with it and a number of other events throughout the year, especially training, which is always comprehensive and well delivered.

These are some of the most remote and challenging sections of our trail network on the walks scheme. Beyond maintenance, the scheme provides real value through permissive access agreements and insurance for private landowners through Sport Ireland, ensuring public benefit and landowner security. The walk scheme development fund is a further initiative that provides up to €10,000 per trail annually and is also vital in addressing damage from storms, flooding and other abnormal events.

Within the Wicklow outdoor recreation committee, WORC, my colleague has outlined the wider strategy. My focus is on representing the walks scheme participants, managing WORC's trail crew and delivering ORIS projects valued from €40,000 to €500,000, which are measure 1 to measure 3. Wicklow is fortunate to have a dedicated trail crew, primarily funded by the local authority with smaller contributions from Coillte and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Since May 2023, one full-time staff member has been dedicated to the 132 km Wicklow Way, while also allocating time each week to the Great Sugar Loaf, where a €500,000 ORIS-funded restoration project was completed. For a modest €7,600 per year, this preventative maintenance is sufficient to safeguard that major investment. What makes this model effective is the principle of amortised planning. By co-ordinating activity and funding across all assets rather than treating each project in isolation, maintenance can be delivered more efficiently and responsively. Resources are dedicated to where they are most needed, ensuring balanced care across the county’s network. This approach, supported by WORC’s structure, means more time is spent on preventative maintenance and less on administration. It is a practical and proven way of protecting public investment while maximising limited resources.

ORIS has made a significant positive impact on outdoor amenities nationwide. Yet, to strengthen the scheme further, I suggest extending maintenance planning across the full life cycle of the assets. At present, ORIS operates on cycles of approximately 18 months. However, assets such as upland paths or natural play areas have lifespans of infinite to 20 to 25 years, respectively. Aligning funding to a five-year cycle, similar to walks scheme contracts, would allow for more consistent and sustainable planning. It is relatively easy to estimate the annual maintenance costs of a structure at project conception. If such an approach were to be developed, ideally in partnership with local authorities, local development companies or county recreation committees, the benefits would be considerable, such as stable employment in rural areas, long-term and high-quality recreational amenities, and protection of public investment through efficient preventative maintenance. Crucially, an amortised planning model, as already demonstrated in Wicklow over the past 18 months, provides a clear example of how this could be achieved.

Wicklow’s experience highlights that real progress is being made under the national outdoor recreation strategy. The walks scheme, WORC and ORIS are each delivering tangible benefits. However, it is the principle of amortised planning - spreading both activity and funding across the full county network - that unlocks the greatest efficiency. It ensures that our trails and recreation assets are not only built to a high standard, but also maintained sustainably for the future. It is a privilege to contribute to this important work.

I look forward to answering any questions the committee members may have.