Mr. John Joe Fitzgerald:

I agree 100% with what Mr. Bourke said. There can be no ambiguity around dark-shaded or any other type of area where bringing dogs onto farmland, especially hills, is concerned. It is a no-no, and that message has to come out from here. The biggest problem we have is that, if a guy or girl brings a dog onto a commonage and a farmer approaches to tell that person to bring the dog home, that guy or girl tells the farmer that he or she got permission from the landowner. How can someone get permission from 20 landowners? That is why we are saying we need a total ban on recreational users bringing their dogs onto our hills and farmlands, bar the hunts, dogs for the blind and stuff like that. If we do that, it will be a better society and give farmers more of an opportunity if they feel they want to open up for walks and schemes. The biggest hindrance at the moment to these walk schemes is recreational users with dogs. That is what I have been told. Before I came here today, I was on the phone to someone named Vincent. There are a lot of landowners out there who are thinking of closing the walks down unless the serious issue with dogs is dealt with.