Ms Finola Moylette:

I am the principal officer in the community division of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and one of my areas of responsibility is to chair Comhairle na Tuaithe. I am accompanied by Mr. Des Moore who works with me in the Department on the day-to-day implementation of the national countryside recreation strategy. Members will have received copies of a document I circulated yesterday outlining the general objectives of Comhairle na Tuaithe. I will briefly discuss our work, after which I will be pleased to answer any questions members may have.

Comhairle na Tuaithe was established in 2004 for the purpose of progressing three specific priorities, namely, access to the countryside for recreation purposes; the development of a countryside code; and the development of the countryside recreation strategy. Significant progress has been made in all three areas. The national countryside recreation strategy was agreed and published in 2006 and the principle of "leave no trace" has effectively been adopted as the code for recreation users. The strategy is dedicated to creating a nationally recognised and accepted outdoor ethic, which encourages all outdoor enthusiasts to act with responsibility in the countryside and take care of the environment. While not universal, there is widespread permissive access to the countryside for recreation purposes.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government provides the secretariat and chair for Comhairle na Tuaithe, which meets, on average, three or four times per annum. The membership comprises representatives from a range of bodies, including the main farming organisations, State and semi-State organisations such as Coillte and the national trails office and a large number of non-State organisations, including Scouting Ireland, Mountaineering Ireland and Keep Ireland Open. While the organisations represented on Comhairle na Tuaithe can and do have different and sometimes conflicting views, the national countryside recreation strategy published in 2006 represents a consensus view of the membership.

The document I circulated outlines some of the current areas Comhairle na Tuaithe is trying to address. They include the development, with the main State agencies, of an outdoor recreation plan for public lands and waters. These agencies include Coillte, Inland Fisheries Ireland and Bord na Móna.

Comhairle na Tuaithe, through the Department representatives, also works closely with the national trails advisory committee, a sub-committee of the Irish Sports Council, to oversee the implementation of its national trails strategy and assist the national trails office in its work. With Fáilte Ireland, the Department funds 12 rural recreation officers through local development companies to support the development of walking trails and manage the walk scheme. While the scheme is closed to new trails, it currently maintains more than 40 trails throughout the country and approximately 1,800 landowners are participating in it.

With regard to future plans, our main aim is to continue with implementation of the national countryside recreation strategy, which outlines five strategic objectives. Comhairle na Tuaithe has agreed a list of priority actions to be progressed, although our ability to deliver on these will be contingent on resources. We hope to conclude agreement on the national outdoor recreation plan for public lands and waters during 2013. This will be significant as the State owns or is in control of in excess of 15% of the land in the country and a more co-ordinated and planned approach to the development of recreation infrastructure can only be beneficial.

We are exploring the possibility of introducing a national indemnity scheme to facilitate access to private lands for recreational purposes. This has the potential to greatly alleviate landowners’ fears regarding possible litigation and other difficulties and should facilitate the removal of any barriers to access. Having provided this quick summary of the types of areas in which Comhairle na Tuaithe is currently involved, I and my colleague, Mr. Moore, will be pleased to elaborate on any aspect of our activities.