Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Ms Moylette and Mr. Moore. The main focus of the joint committee in this matter is the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, and proposals to restrict farmers' use of commonages. As many people are aware, when pressure is applied to hill farmers on the issue of commonages, there is always a danger that rural recreation, which, as Ms Moylette noted, takes place on a permissive basis, will come into play. Have discussions taken place with officials in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on the commonage policy it is developing, given that walking places a certain amount of pressure on certain hills, especially where they are used by large numbers of walkers?

Have their been discussions on the possible use of the forthcoming CAP negotiations to build in the development of rural recreation on hills, possibly through a new REP scheme or other rural development scheme, so that a holistic view would be taken of the use of the hills?

I know Comhairle na Tuaithe was looking at the issue of insurance. There were pilot schemes on Carrantuohill and on Beann Shléibhe in the Joyce country. The idea on Beann Shléibhe was to get the agreement of the hill owners to allow permissive access on designated parts of the hill, effectively all of the hill in open commonage which was above the level of the divided fields. In return, indemnity would be given to the landowners so that no claim could be made against them, walkers would adhere to the "leave to trace" policy and would enter and exit the common areas by designated gates, and car parks would be provided through the rural development fund. There would be a totally holistic view of the use of the hill. How far has that gone?

There is huge goodwill among farmers to the idea of permissive access. I see two challenges to that. The first is the insurance issue which, in my view, is minuscule. The chance of any recreational walker taking a successful claim against a landowner is, in practice, nil, but people still worry about the issue. Second, in the context of the CAP and commonage plans, farmers do not like being asked to give permissive access while another Department - and it is all seen as the same Government - is placing restrictions on them, without so much as a by your leave. They are the two elements where Comhairle na Tuaithe has a key role to play.

I was involved with Comhairle na Tuaithe at the beginning. When the walking organisations sat down with the farmers, both sides would have sworn they would never see eye to eye. Over three or four years they achieved 90% agreement on the fundamental issues and a working arrangement was arrived at between all parties. There was huge buy-in and huge effort. It would be a tragedy if we lost that because changes are happening outside the remit of Comhairle na Tuaithe which are not being co-ordinated and because the organisation is not part of the management of the change.

Rural recreation is good for everyone in the country. It is good internationally. It brings tourism to Ireland. It should be done on an agreed basis. Without the landholder that is not possible.