Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development
Embracing Ireland's Outdoors - National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027: Discussion
2:00 am
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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Apologies have been received from Deputy William Aird, who will be with us later, and Senator Noel Donovan.
I will read a note on privilege and housekeeping matters before we begin. Witnesses and members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable or otherwise engage in speech that would be regarded as damaging to the good name of the person or entity. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory in relation to an identifiable person or entity, they will be directed to discontinue their remarks. It is imperative that they comply with all such directions that I might make.
Members attending remotely are reminded of the constitutional requirement that to participate in public meetings, members must be physically present within the confines of the Leinster House complex. This is due to the constitutional requirement that for participation in public meetings, members must be physically present within the confines or place where the Parliament has chosen to sit. In this regard, I ask members participating via MS Teams to confirm that they are on the grounds of Leinster House if they wish to contribute to the meeting. I remind all those in attendance to make sure their mobile phones are switched off or on silent mode.
The embracing Ireland outdoor national recreation strategy was published in November 2022 and sets out the vision and series of actions to lead and guide the sustainable development and management of our outdoor recreation over five years. With that in mind, it is appropriate and opportune to review the strategy and its objectives at what is effectively the midway point. Recreation in the outdoors is something we all value and we are fortunate in Ireland to have nature and its bounty available to us. It is to be cherished and safeguarded in equal measure and, above all, made accessible to this and future generations for their well-being, health and enjoyment.
We look forward to engaging with the witnesses today in promoting the outdoors and its offerings. I welcome from the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht Mr. Fintan O'Brien, assistant secretary for rural and regional affairs, and Mr. J.P. Mulherin, principal officer for the investment programmes and outdoor recreation unit. I invite Mr. O'Brien to make his opening remarks.
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
I thank the Chair and members of the committee for the invitation to attend today’s meeting. I am joined today by my colleague, Mr. J.P. Mulherin, principal officer in the investment programmes and outdoor recreation unit. We very much welcome the opportunity to update the committee on the work of the Department in respect of Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, Ireland's national outdoor recreation strategy and on the work in the Department to support the development and maintenance of the network of trails throughout the country.
Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors is a collaborative cross-government, stakeholder-led strategy. Significant stakeholder and public engagement were central to developing this strategy. The members of Comhairle na Tuaithe led the development and drafting of this strategy alongside the then Department of Rural and Community Development. As the committee will be aware, Comhairle na Tuaithe, also known as the Countryside Council, was established to support the development of the outdoor recreation sector and the responsible use of the countryside. It advises the Minister in respect of these matters and includes a diverse range of stakeholder representatives. These include Departments, State agencies and public bodies with responsibilities for the outdoor recreation sector; public and private landowners who allow access to their lands for the purposes of outdoor recreation; organisations which directly provide outdoor recreation infrastructure or provide support for the management and development of such structures; national governing bodies and organisations representing outdoor recreational users; not-for-profit and commercial countryside recreation activity providers and facilitators and education providers; and organisations promoting and educating about responsible and sustainable use of the countryside and its resources.
Importantly, the strategy reflects the position of this diverse range of stakeholders. The implementation of the strategy is being jointly led by the Department and Sport Ireland. Progress in delivering the strategy is being monitored through a strategy oversight group and quarterly meetings of Comhairle na Tuaithe. The first published report outlining progress in delivering the strategy covered the period to June 2024 and is available on the Department’s website. The second report is due to be published next month, following the next meeting of Comhairle na Tuaithe.
There has been a huge level of growth in the outdoor recreation sector over the last decade. Getting active in the outdoors brings substantial benefits for everyone in our communities in terms of general well-being, physical health, mental health and social interaction. On top of all of that, this sector is a central plank of our tourism offering. We know that millions of visitors to Ireland each year partake in outdoor recreation activities. That figure is only going to grow. This growth in the sector has also been matched by substantial levels of investment, including through schemes delivered by the Department, such as the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme and the walks scheme.
The aim of the strategy is to ensure there is a joined-up and co-ordinated approach to deliver maximum impact from this significant investment in the sector and build on Ireland’s natural advantages and beautiful landscapes. Better planning and development of outdoor recreation infrastructure is also central to the strategy to ensure we are developing the right infrastructure with enhanced protection of the environment. The strategy includes 95 actions to be delivered over the five years until the end of 2027. To date, 36 of these actions have been completed, with substantial progress recorded in respect of 29 other actions.
Some key areas of delivery include grant aid of up to €30,000 to support the development of county outdoor recreation plans in each county and funding for six county outdoor recreation officer positions on a pilot basis for thee years to co-ordinate delivery in these counties. I understand that this is similar to the role played by Ms. Carol Coad, who is also addressing the committee later. Indeed, the structures already in place in Wicklow have informed the structures being developed in other counties throughout the country.
The Occupiers' Liability Act 1995 was amended to bring in important changes in respect of the duty of care provisions on landholders and included new reference to the voluntary assumption of risk. Comhairle na Tuaithe has developed an information leaflet to explain these important reforms to farmers and recreational users. The walks scheme has been expanded to 164 trails. This vital scheme provides funding for private landowners to maintain trails that traverse their land. It is funded by this Department and managed by a network of rural recreation officers located in local development companies throughout the country.
Since 2020, €93 million has been allocated to support over 1,200 projects through the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, ORIS, including €8.7 million last month for 221 new projects under measure 1 of the scheme. The local authorities and local development companies have been working closely with community groups throughout the country to deliver these projects. Three new areas are in the process of joining the mountain access project. This project has been operational in the MacGillycuddy Reeks for a number of years and a new path maintenance scheme for farmers is being developed there on a pilot basis.
The Department is providing €15 million to Coillte over five years to maintain and develop trails on over 250 sites throughout the country. An additional €1.4 million was also approved this year by the Minister to assist with storm repair costs on Coillte lands this year. This is just a snapshot of some of the actions being delivered. Comhairle na Tuaithe is working on a wide range of other actions linked to important issues such as promoting responsible behaviour in the outdoors and developing guidance to support best practice in infrastructure development. Individual members are also investing substantially in the sector, including funding for greenways through the Department of Transport and funding for the midlands trail network being supported by Fáilte Ireland through the Just Transition Fund. The strategy itself is the result of a collaborative effort by stakeholders across the sector. While the implementation is being led by the Department and Sport Ireland, the delivery is entirely dependent on the input and action of each of these stakeholders. There is much still to be done to realise the vision of the strategy but I am confident that we are making good progress.
I hope this has provided a useful overview.for committee members. I look forward to hearing their views and myself and my colleague, Mr. Mulherin will be happy to respond to any questions over the course of the meeting.
Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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I am sorry that I missed the very start of the meeting but I had read the presentations beforehand. I thank the witnesses for being here and for their work. I have a question about how things happen. There are lots of Departments and agencies involved here, including the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Sport Ireland, the Department of tourism and the Department of education to a certain extent. There is an expression that holds that when everyone is responsible, nobody is responsible. I ask the witnesses to explain how it works. Sometimes there might be an offering on the tourism end and people might be working away on that but there could be something else on the sport end and maybe they should be talking to each other but they are not. If we take the development of greenways, for example, some are developed for tourism while others are developed for active travel and for linking up areas. In my own area, there was an attempt at one stage to build two cycle lanes that would basically run side by side because the tourism people were not talking to others and the right people were not all in the room together. I ask our guests to describe how all of the parties come together and who is the main driver. Does the Department get good buy-in from the other Departments involved?
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
I thank the Deputy. I completely understand the logic of her question. Anyone who is in the Civil Service has probably seen that quite a few times. The outdoor recreation strategy states that it is being led by our Department and Sport Ireland. It is important to have it stated clearly that we sit at the apex of it. There is an awful lot of actors involved and a lot the work boils down to Comhairle na Tuaithe bringing all of the actors together. They are all very clear on our shared ambition and positivity for the sector but it can be difficult to get all of that pointing in the same direction. I would say that the chair of Comhairle na Tuaithe, Dr. Liam Twomey, who stood down from the post recently, has done a marvellous job in that regard in recent years.
There is quite a lot of ongoing coordination and communication required between Departments. Part of the challenge of the strategy was understanding all of the players, trying to bring them together and then maintaining that structure sitting on top of them. We have a number of structures around the country. What we have tried to do in the context of coherence is to push the idea of the county outdoor recreation plans. The Department is funding them and they bring together all of the main players. Flowing out of the structure of the national outdoor recreation strategy are the local plans and strategies that feed into it. They are underway in most, if not all, counties at the moment and they will be the blueprint for action. No matter who the actors are, they are all coming together around a shared plan for the way forward. On top of that, we have piloted county outdoor recreation officers in order to bring more coherence to that as well. I am quite hopeful that will make a real difference in ensuring coherence although I have no doubt that there will still be some issues in relation to tying it all up and making sure everyone is going in the same direction all of the time. That said, I think the structure of a colead between the Department and Sport Ireland and the overarching strategy feeding down into the local strategies, with Comhairle na Tuaithe bringing everybody together and pointing in the same direction, is working quite well for us in that regard.
Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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My next question relates to how we measure success. The Department will measure some of it against the plans but are people using the facilities counted? Is that being used as evidence of progress being made? If I look around my own area, I can see the things that are successful because I can see people physically there, but that is not a very scientific way of measuring. Does the Department have methods by which it tracks and measures success?
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
There is a couple of things there. Intuitively, we would all say we have seen a huge uptick in walking but as the Deputy said, it needs to be more scientific. There is an amount of work being put into trail counters in terms of getting quantifiable data. That is much more important than just saying that we see it or we feel it is happening. We have an annual report on progress under the strategy which will track delivery of the actions as we go. The next one is going to Comhairle na Tuaithe shortly and it will then be published. Towards the end of this year, as the Chair referenced in his opening remarks, we will be doing a proper evaluation of where it all stands, what has been achieved and what might need to be tweaked halfway through. I agree with the Deputy that getting data to underpin our evaluation is really important in terms of making sure that significant funding is invested in the right way.
Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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My final question-----
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I am sorry but you are out of time. Deputy Gallagher is next.
Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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From the Department finds its way into the most rural areas of the country, which is extremely helpful. Nowadays people are so conscious of their health and providing these walks is so important. They do not have to be state-of-the-art but the more we can provide, the better. I note that the Department is going to provide funding for six outdoor recreation officer positions on a pilot basis. Who will decide where they are? Will there be an opportunity for local authorities to make submissions to the Department? Who will decide that? Where is Comhairle na Tuaithe based and what is its authority?
In terms of the implementation of the strategy, it is important that the Department is at the apex, as our guests have said. Tremendous work is being done on the ground by the local authorities and local development companies. They are working away quietly.
It is a great Department. Any politician would want to be in it because there is good news nearly every day. Although other Departments may have an input, it is important that one Department have overall responsibility.
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
I thank the Deputy. I agree with that point. For me, an important part of the strategy was that it would bring clarity as to the structure, with everybody feeding into it. I also wholeheartedly agree in relation to the work of local authorities, LDCs and rural regeneration officers on the ground working with stakeholders, landowners and community groups. There is no strategy without that work happening on the ground. It would be just a piece of paper without all that work, so I completely agree.
I also agree that not every investment has to be all bells and whistles and entail a huge state-of-the-art facility. I have been lucky enough to see quite a lot of the investments around the country. Variation across rural areas is really important.
On outdoor recreation posts, we have put six posts in place on a pilot basis. The original idea of a pilot was that because it involved something new, we wanted to trial it. There was a competitive process in place, run by Sport Ireland. Decisions on the locations were based on the likes of the business case submitted. Also, we wanted to ensure that if we were doing a pilot, we would have different types of counties. We had coastal counties offering a certain thing and inland counties offering something different. It was to see how the post would work in different settings. We are pretty much halfway through, so the idea now is to review and see how the posts are working. If a pilot works, we should be considering whether benefit can be added somewhere else.
Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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How is Comhairle na Tuaithe constituted?
Mr. J.P. Mulherin:
As the Deputy probably knows, Comhairle na Tuaithe has now been in existence for a good 20 years. Up until recently, it was chaired by Dr. Liam Twomey. A new chairperson will be put in place. It meets every quarter and its primary function right now is to oversee the delivery. It has a number of different subgroups considering important work areas under the strategy. There is one for the uplands areas considering how we develop them and there are ones for responsible behaviour, which involves asking how we improve the behaviour of people in the outdoors, particularly when accessing private land. There is another considering infrastructure development, which involves asking how we ensure that the investment we put in place is used in the right way, that the right infrastructure is put in place and that it is done in a sustainable way.
The nub of the question is on who is represented on Comhairle na Tuaithe. All the private landowners are represented through the farming associations. The local authorities and Coillte, as public landowners, are represented. Leave No Trace Ireland, the Department of Transport, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and user groups like Cycling Ireland and Mountaineering Ireland are also represented. Therefore, it is a very diverse grouping. The local authorities are represented through the County and City Management Association. We believe it is very representative of all the stakeholders in the sector. There are about 20 members and the meetings are very productive. Part of the benefit of the strategy and what is happening now under Comhairle na Tuaithe is bringing all those people together to discuss all the issues and thrash through them. It has been quite successful on the back of the strategy. That is probably giving more of a focus to the work of Comhairle na Tuaithe than it has ever had before.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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I thank both guests very much for being here today and setting out a comprehensive opening statement. I am just going to build on what Deputy Gallagher has spoken about. Can the delegates name the six counties or areas that had outdoor recreation officers allocated to them? I am not being parochial but would like to know.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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I am elected by Galway so we will worry about Galway.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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It is very unfortunate that Galway, being the county with the second largest landmass in the country, is not included. Connemara is on one side, the city is in the middle and east Galway is on the other side. To be quite honest, most people employed by any of the State agencies get a nosebleed if they have to leave the city or Connemara to go beyond Loughrea to make their way to Portumna, Killimor, Eyrecourt, Woodford or Gort. This is unfortunate, but I welcome the fact that there is a review and that there is a pilot. I hope the initiative will be expanded because there are offerings.
Thirty thousand euro is being provided to each county to support the development of county outdoor recreational plans. Is there an update on how that money is spent?
Is it okay with the Chair if I have an over-and-back?
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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Yes. The Senator has her six or seven minutes.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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So only €30,000 is being spent to support each recreational officer.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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That is the plan. Each county is producing a plan.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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Please do. I am focusing only on Galway.
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
Unfortunately, pilots are like interview processes in that you end up with more less satisfied people than fully satisfied people. However, we are quite aware that there is a demand across the country, so we will take that into account.
Mr. Mulherin will give an outline of what exactly the recreation plans are achieving and where they are at.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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Very concisely because I have only six minutes.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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So it has not drawn down the €30,000 yet.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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That answers that question. I thank Mr. Mulherin.
I want to move on to the Department’s collaborative work in the midlands. I am located on the bridge in Portumna. Eyrecourt is nearly on the Banagher bridge. Just transition does not really bite into this part of east Galway, even though we have plenty of bogs. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, somebody decided this part of east Galway did not constitute an area for inclusion. I am trying to understand what is happening with the midlands strategy. Do you just stop the walk at the end of the just transition programme region or come into east Galway and continue on? We have a very successful walk, the Hymany Way, part of which has recently been funded by the Department. This was part of its recent allocation, which I acknowledge, but there is a midlands strategy. I have no doubt that the Department is partnering with Waterways Ireland, with which, along with the local authority, we are partnering in Portumna. Where do we fit into the Department’s strategy?
Mr. J.P. Mulherin:
The just transition fund is funding the midlands trail network. It is all on Bord na Móna land and it does cover a number of counties. As the Senator has said, Galway is not covered by that, but we need to look at the broader picture around the development of trails. There is a walk scheme operated by the Department that funds landowners to maintain trails that traverse their land. The outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme develops trails. Although the just transition fund is very much focused on a particular part of the country – that would not be decided by this Department or Fáilte Ireland – we need to focus on all the other opportunities that exist. We have rural recreation officers in most counties around the country and these are working with landowners to develop trails.
We have funding options through the outdoor recreation scheme so there is a number of different players and avenues for funding these trails. There are several trails already within Galway as part of the national trails register and if there are other ones that are interested in becoming a part of the walk scheme or need investment through the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, the local authority and the local development companies are there to support that.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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It is unfortunate to see that when the local authority has had 12 months since landing its funding and did not take up the opportunity, it is the people who are missing out on some of the opportunities. On the just transition programme,Offaly comes to mind. While we are bordering counties, at the same time when you look at Eyrecourt, Portumna and Clonfert, you do not have a connectivity piece in that whereas we have two bridge crossings, we do not have any walk connectivity. I am concerned about the connectivity piece. We are developing trails but are we developing trails that are connecting into other counties?
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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We do not have time to answer that now but we might come back to it at the end. Deputy Guirke is next.
Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I have a quick question. First, are the witnesses involved in RRDF funding?
Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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The rural regeneration and development programme.
Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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In the last round of the RRDF funding, the then Minister, Heather Humphreys, announced €164 million. She gave her own constituency of Cavan-Monaghan €32 million. I am talking about an imbalance in funding. County Meath, with a population of more than Cavan and Monaghan combined, got zero out of the €164 million. It had three projects in, totalling less than €10 million, and it did not get one penny. The work Meath County Council and the communities put into those three projects was massive. I think it was only one of two or three counties that got nothing. The former Minister gave her own constituency €32 million, which I have no problem with, but I have a serious problem with leaving a county like Meath behind that got zero out of €164 million. Could the witnesses explain that to me, please?
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
-----but certainly, in terms of the RRDF, again it is a competitive process. There are local authorities engaged with local communities that are sending their applications for funding. I do not recall the actual details of the €164 million which the Deputy has set out but his main issue is that-----
Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I will give them to the witness if he wants. I will tell him the three projects.
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
From our point of view there is a rigorous examination of them and there is a body that sits over that assessment process, which draws people from a number of different departments and an external quality assessor to make sure that assessment process is robust.
In respect of the overall balance, it was the case that not all counties got funding the last time and that happens to be the case with some of these funding announcements. I was looking at this detail the other day regarding the overall spread of the RRDF project and it is spread quite well across the country. I do not have that visualisation of the map in front of me at present but I could certainly send on the details to the Deputy of that spread of the RRDF funding across the country, if that would be helpful.
As for the next stage of the RRDF, we currently have applications for category 2 funding. The category 1 funding is for the big, on-the-ground shovel-ready projects but we have now almost finalised the assessment of the category 2 funding ,which get projects ready for category 1. We expect the next round of funding to be announced in the next couple of weeks.
Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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When is the next round of major funding and how much money is going to be allocated this year to the capital projects, that is, the major projects?
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I am conscious we are talking about the outdoor strategy and the Deputy is referring to the rural recreation and development fund.
Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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This is outdoor. The rural recreation and development fund-----
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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It is not outdoor specifically.
Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Well, this man said he represented-----
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I am conscious of that and I am conscious Mr. O'Brien has a role within that Department but he does not have that information in front of him today so if we could, we should keep the questions directed towards the outdoor recreation strategy.
There will be an opportunity for the Department to come back in on the RRDF at some stage but I am conscious that we have two officials here from the Department who have information relating to the outdoor recreation strategy but they do not have information on the RRDF.
Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I am not here to try to catch anyone out. I am here about the imbalance of funding to the people I represent. To be honest, I thought it was shocking. County Meath was one of only two counties out of a €164 million and I will leave it at that. It had three projects which were shovel-ready and ready to go and not one of them was funded. Mr. O'Brien said there are strict criteria. There was no problem with the criteria for Cavan-Monaghan and each of its projects were approved. That is annoying. I will leave it at that and move on.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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With regard to the information Mr. O'Brien is sending, he might send it to the secretariat so we can forward it to all members.
Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Towns and villages across Ireland that would benefit from walking trails and new footpaths that would create loop walks for people to use are currently disadvantaged due to the strict criteria. Do all applications go through the local authority or do some of them go through the community groups? I will give an example. One town I represent in Meath West was refused measure 1 of the outdoor recreation funding for a short stretch of footpath needed to complete the path as it did not meet the criteria of the confines of a town and did not link up with any recreational facilities despite it going out to a GAA pitch, which is recreation in itself, and being a mile outside the confines of the town. Maybe if the criteria was eased, many towns and villages would be in a position to avail of this funding.
I have a couple of quick points. Do the witnesses think the criteria for funding should be relaxed and how will local authorities be funded for outdoor recreation staff on a full-time basis in the future? The witnesses somewhat covered that one but community groups need more of a say in funding applications for local communities. How do the witnesses plan on allowing communities to engage on outdoor recreation projects? If a project is unsuccessful, is there going to be an appeals process set up? Sometimes it is frustrating when a project does not receive funding and I think it is important the local authorities and communities be in a position to appeal.
As somebody who came from an area in Meath with CLÁR funding, we made very good use of it as well as the town and village funding. Those things have worked out well on the bigger scale of things.
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
There were a couple of issues raised there. One of the themes we were touching on was this availability of funding across schemes. It is a constant challenge for us to make sure we have them being complementary but not overlapping. For example, paths within towns would not generally be funded within ORIS but they may be funded under CLÁR or TVR. It is through that constant review of schemes that we do not end up duplicating what we are funding, which can be challenging.
Regarding who can apply for ORIS, there is a mix there of local authorities, local development companies, LDCs, and indeed State bodies - they are allowed approve as well. Regardless, across all our schemes, the idea is that these groups - which are local authorities and LDCs - are well positioned to engage directly with community groups. I do not know how many countless projects I have seen at this stage but without those community groups, the projects do not exist. They are the absolute lifeblood of those projects.
On a wider point - and I do not want to stray outside, Chair - that is also something we are looking at in respect of the upcoming new rural policy, namely, that idea of community input, how we support that better and how we ensure we are not running that well dry. That is absolutely central to the whole thing. I do not know if there is anything else in particular I have not picked up on for the Deputy.
Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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No, that is grand thank you.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Mr. O'Brien.
On my own behalf, the outdoor strategy runs from 2023 to 2027. The witness outlined there are 95 actions, of which 36 have been completed and 29 other actions are in some way in the process of being completed. That leaves 30 actions left. Could Mr. O'Brien give a comment on where we are with the 29 that are currently on the way? We are now in 2025 and have only a two-year period before we come to the end of the strategy. I know there is a report due out next month with an update but the witnesses might give a bit more information to know where we are at with that.
Mr. J.P. Mulherin:
I will take that one. As the Chair has said, we have 65 we would say are either complete or well under way.
We are therefore confident they will be delivered in the coming months.
A number of other actions in the strategy are not timetabled to be completed until the next two years. We have started consideration of them. They will, as the Deputy noted, be delivered by different partners or stakeholders which are represented in Comhairle na Tuaithe. Some of the original timelines for some of these actions were challenging, if we are being totally frank. As it was a stakeholder-led strategy, there is a large number of them and a little overlap between some of them. Some of the timelines were a little ambitious. However, I suspect, if other stakeholders from Comhairle na Tuaithe were around the table, they would be positive about the level of delivery and engagement in delivering the actions thus far. While we still have a fair way to go, progress has been relatively good. An annual report will be published next month, which will give a clear picture of each of the actions-----
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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Is the Department confident the 95 of them will be implemented?
Mr. J.P. Mulherin:
Yes, we are. A mid-term review of the strategy will commence towards the end of this year or the start of next year. That again will be an opportunity for external consideration of the strategy, which actions it contains, how they are being delivered and what we can learn this time around.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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Is the grant aid of up to €30,000 for the development of county outdoor recreation plans the responsibility of each local authority or does it depend on the local authority area? Is it partnerships or the local development companies? What is the mix?
Mr. J.P. Mulherin:
They are being developed by county outdoor recreation committees, which are comprised of the local authority, local sports partnership and local development company, which might be Coillte, on the ground. It does not fall only at the foot of the local authority. The idea is to bring those stakeholders together as part of those committees to deliver. However, the funding is being delivered through the local development companies or local authorities. They are the leads for drawing down funding.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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Senator Rabbitte got the names of the counties for the six county outdoor recreation officers. How long has the pilot been going? Are the three years up or are we mid-way through the project?
Mr. O'Brien mentioned that there might be an extension or broadening of it? Will he give some more detail on that? There are county outdoor recreation officers and rural recreation officers. Will the Department explain the difference between those roles please?
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
We have had those county outdoor recreation officer roles for just over a year at this stage. That is why we will be doing a mid-term review. The rural recreation officers were mentioned. One of the reasons we did a pilot was that we wanted to make sure we were not duplicating our funding. Mr. Mulherin might have more detail about this, but my recollection of the roles is that the rural recreation officers work in the LDCs and focus on engaging with local farmers on the walk scheme, with local communities on the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme applications, community involvement and such things. I understand the county outdoor recreation officer role is linked to the plans. It is more about strategic coherence and bringing it all together. It may be less about being on the ground every day talking to stakeholders who are dealing with maintenance or access issues and a more strategic role. I hope that sums it up.
Mr. J.P. Mulherin:
It does. What has happened with the role of county outdoor recreation officers is that they have been so successful that they are being overburdened as regards their workload. We went from 40 trails five or six years ago to more than 160 trails now. There is only so much they can do to develop the trails working with landowners. As Mr. O'Brien said, the county outdoor recreation officers were to come in and support that at a more strategic level to try to bring the partners together, especially now that county plans will be in place.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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They are all my queries.
Senator Rabbitte had a supplementary question.
I welcome Senators McCormack and O'Reilly and Deputy Ardagh. They indicated so if they want to contribute, we still have time. Senator Rabbitte is first.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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The work the officials and their Department do in co-ordinating and being the apex is invaluable. I wanted to say that. Sometimes my frustration comes from the people who need to co-ordinate at a local level to ensure they get maximum output from what the Department is doing. It is vital to say that. The frustration might also come because of the wonderful work being delivered in other areas. I can see the funding and drawdown of it.
I will go back to Coillte.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I remind the Senator she can ask one question.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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Yes, the question relates to Coillte. While a lot of work is going on with trails, is the Department looking at expanding other pieces of work outside the trails with Coillte in relation to recreation tourism?
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
On the local link, I completely agree. Much of our work across schemes involves engaging with our local delivery partners. We see different patterns of delivery and we engage where we feel we need to, perhaps, up the ante a little, basically. I understand exactly what the Senator is talking about.
Mr. Mulherin might respond on Coillte.
Mr. J.P. Mulherin:
Coillte can probably answer for itself, but what we are trying to do is support the sites it has in place. It has approximately 250 recreation sites at the moment. It has an ambition to increase that to 500 sites across the country. The impact on tourism is significant from the 250 sites it has currently and I suppose if it expands the number over the next few years, the impact it has will only grow. It has ten or 12 forest parks. In a number of those there are economic operators, that is people providing coffee, bike facilities and so on at those sites. That is another economic element. The more good quality trails we have, the more people will use them and the more they are spread around the country, the more opportunities there will be for remote areas, for people to come in and bring economic benefits to the area.
To add to that, we have started a study of the economic impact from the rural recreation sector. I hope it will demonstrate the impact of the investment we are putting in at the moment.
Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
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I had not realised I had to indicate so I am glad I am getting a chance to ask a question.
I could not see anything about integrating people with disabilities anywhere in the plans and I am conscious of all abilities being able to use this.
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
Again Mr. Mulherin might have some detail, but it is absolutely in the national outdoor recreation strategy. There was a clear recognition of it and the idea of all abilities having access came through strongly from the stakeholder engagement and Comhairle na Tuaithe. We have it hardwired into our schemes as well. We are not unaware of it. It is absolutely central to our considerations.
Mr. J.P. Mulherin:
That covers it. Active Disability Ireland is represented on Comhairle na Tuaithe, which played a part in designing the strategy. There are five themes in the strategy, one of which is specifically about improving access for people with disabilities. Also, under the funding schemes for example, the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme has a requirement to make sure the facilities being delivered are accessible and that that is part of the consideration.
Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
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Okay that is fine. It is a requirement.
I am from County Laois. We have had massive population growth and we do not have the infrastructure or services or anything to go along with it. We do not seem to be availing of any of the benefits of this. We are an inland community. I would be interested in hearing about Sport Ireland - we have been crying out for funding for sports facilities - and its involvement in this. We were not involved in the six counties. I am quite sure we are not one of the 22 counties that have availed of the plan either. Perhaps the officials will tell me something different. I would specifically like to know about the inland, rural, midlands communities. Like Senator Rabbitte, I want to know about my constituency.
What is the process for groups? Can community groups apply for this? It seems as though there are a lot of hoops they have to jump through. I am thinking particularly of Panthers Basketball Club and Old Fort Celtic, a soccer club, which cannot get anywhere to play. We have all these grounds, but no way they can access funding to engage in sport and recreational activities.
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
I am somewhat familiar with County Laois. I live there at the moment. There are some amazing facilities around County Laois. Some of the things that have been funded, such as the Glenbarrow car park, have been fantastic improvements.
Not every investment is necessarily in building the trail. Those ancillary bits - the car park, the facilities and the coffee area beside it - are fantastic examples of what can be done.
In Laois, there are two trails on the walks scheme but there are four more coming through, so that process is in train with regard to increasing that participation. In the most recent outdoor recreation investment for infrastructure stream in August, my recollection is that there are seven to nine projects in Laois. They are coming through.
Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
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I specifically want to know what we are doing about sporting facilities in Laois and Sport Ireland's involvement here. That is where we are really falling down.
Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
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It is falling down. They are using umbrellas with rain coming in through the ceiling.
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
There was some repair on that roof under the community recognition fund, which is the other side of my house but I understand. There is something more fundamental planned there, I would agree. I know that a new rural regeneration officer has just been appointed within the Laois Partnership Company, who is doing some good work at the moment. Outside of our Department, in the sports capital programme there were two big announcements last year as well. There are a number of funding streams across Departments and s part of our new rural policy, we are looking at how we make that more accessible to people.
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
Some communities, for various reasons, seem to find that slightly easier and that is a nut we have to crack. I fully agree. We have a couple of things in mind in terms of engaging directly with communities, trying to demystify that process, and trying to be much clearer as to what is available. I would imagine there are a number of groups and projects out there that just do not know where to start looking, to be quite honest.
Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
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I know my time is up. There is a new rural regeneration officer with Laois Partnership Company.
Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
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Okay. I will liaise there. Could there be engagement with communities or any way of anything else being added to the pilot scheme? We are really struggling in Laois. I ask the Department to really consider helping to develop this community. We have the largest amount of growth in young people and there are not the facilities for them. These walk trails are great but the young people are not as interested in them. That is all.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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That is a very good pitch, Senator McCormack. I call Deputy Peter Roche.
Peter Roche (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I apologise that I missed the presentation but I had a copy of the report in any event. First, the witnesses are very welcome. I live in rural east Galway and I would welcome any development that encourages people to get onto the trails and walkways, to be more aerobically fit and more healthy mentally and physically. Any investment like that is really needed. It behoves everyone who uses those trails and walks to do so in a responsible and sustainable way, as the witnesses mentioned in their report.
My concern, as always, which is fundamental wherever the trails or walkways are, is that landowner engagement is paramount. Where there are people who like to walk and are accompanied by dogs or otherwise, there is a constant fear on the part of the farmer to protect his livestock, particularly sheep. The damage caused to cattle or horses is not, I suppose, as substantial but in any event, some people feel, rightly or wrongly, that they can go where they like as often as they like with their dogs or otherwise. They may not be conscious that dogs have a way of frightening and threatening livestock, which can cause a real financial burden for the landowner with regard to insurance and all the stuff that goes with it. These are all genuine concerns that people have. No matter where there is a plan for it, or where there are public meetings or otherwise, the one thing that will come to the top of the agenda is the question of farmers' liability and where that goes. What happens if the farmer does not see any attack on or worrying of their livestock, and yet they have vets calling to tend to sheep that are miscarrying or otherwise? My question is on that and how that can be managed. At the end of the day, if a farmer is satisfied that things like his or her liabilities are being managed, you will get better buy-in right across rural Ireland.
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
I thank the Deputy. He put his finger on one of the key issues with regard to the expansion here. Not only is it complicated but it is a very emotive issue for a lot of different actors. That idea of access to farmers' lands and responsible usage is absolutely key. Without the co-operation and goodwill of our farmers, life would be an awful lot more difficult with respect to rolling out these facilities everyone gets to use. That landowner role is absolutely essential.
From our point of view, when we see that walks scheme expanding, we see that as a sign of us making progress in ensuring we are cognisant of the concerns of the landowners. We are bringing them in through consultation and it is not a top-down process. We are not forcing them to do anything. We are fully aware of that situation. Part of the rural regeneration officer role is that direct engagement and that is one of the main reasons they are put locally. It is not something I can control from my office in Dublin or Ballina. It is very much a local thing, that engagement and understanding. Those exact concerns may differ from locality to locality so that engagement has really been important.
For Comhairle na Tuaithe as well, there is quite a lot of work going on regarding exactly those kinds of issues the Deputy is talking about, such as access, damage and responsible usage. It has developed a booklet regarding the Occupiers Liability Act 1995, as well as general commentary on property rights and access to land. It is also doing a report on the research into behavioural change. That behavioural change is a tricky thing to get to but it is absolutely key. I refer to that understanding that you may well be on someone else's land and how your behaviour should reflect that. There is quite a bit of work going on in Comhairle na Tuaithe with regard to that as well. That idea of access, landowners and that co-operation will always be at the centre of what we are doing in this space.
Peter Roche (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Not frequently but now and again, I would have reason to do those very trails. You will find from time to time that the vast majority of people are responsible and they respect where they are but there is a cohort that will not, and it is used for alternative uses. Illegal dumping and littering is another issue. Once you have all the stakeholders together and you give reassurance to the landowner, if you get that kind of buy-in people would welcome it but that is the biggest dog in the manger, so to speak, when it comes to concerns like that.
Mr. Fintan O'Brien:
I would agree. There is a kind of overarching positivity. Unfortunately, when you see a small cohort of incidents, it can do a whole pile of damage. That is very unfortunate but, again, through that engagement and consultation we are trying to build on that positivity. Can I tell the Deputy we will be able to eradicate all those isolated incidents? I cannot but we are working very hard on that awareness, guidance and education so that everybody understands fully what is going on. It is a fair point.
Peter Roche (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I apologise, Chair. We have a health committee meeting next door so that is my reason for being late and my reason for exiting early. My apologies but I really welcome the presentation.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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That is fine. I thank Deputy Roche. We are out of time anyway so I thank Mr. Fintan O'Brien and Mr. JP Mulherin for their contributions here today and for providing the various briefing materials in advance to assist the committee in its deliberations. We will suspend for five minutes while we facilitate the exchange of witnesses, and members might stay in their seats.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I will read the note on privilege and housekeeping matters before we begin. Witnesses and members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable, or otherwise engage in speech that would be regarded as damaging to the good name of the person or entity. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory in relation to an identifiable person or entity, they will be directed to discontinue their remarks. It is imperative that they comply with such a direction that I might make.
Members attending remotely are reminded that in order to participate in public meetings, they must be physically present within the confines of the Leinster House complex. This is due to the constitutional requirement that to participate in public meetings, members must be physically present within the confines or place where the Parliament has chosen to sit. In this regard, I ask members participating via Microsoft Teams to confirm that they are on the grounds of Leinster House if they wish to contribute to the meeting. I remind all in attendance to make sure their mobile phones are switched off or on silent mode.
From County Wicklow Partnership, I welcome Ms Carol Coad, strategy activation officer, and Mr. Aaron Byrne, rural recreation officer. I thank them for attending. We look forward to gleaning insights regarding the development and operation of rural recreation programmes and how recreation and the outdoors can be promoted and enhanced into the future. With that in mind, I invite Ms Coad to make her opening remarks.
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.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Ms Coad. Mr. Byrne's contribution is next.
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.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Ms Coad and Mr. Byrne for their opening remarks. I open the floor for members who wish to comment.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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I thank Ms Coad and Mr. Byrne for taking the time to come before the committee. There are also some people watching in online. What the outdoor recreation committee has achieved over the past 15 years is phenomenal. It is a positive footprint that other counties - I come from County Galway - could learn from. I completely agree that outdoor recreation should have a sustainable funding stream of its own because there is so much to offer. If Covid taught us anything, it was the value and benefit of outdoor recreation. However, the value and benefit are only as good as the investment that is put into it, as Mr. Byrne referenced in relation to the maintenance. I totally support what he said about how there should be a maintenance strategy as well. Other county councils could learn so much from the collective work the witnesses have done with LEADER because that is where it sometimes falls down. The Government is good with good initiatives and that one-off piece, but if we get the buy-in of the semi-State, LEADER companies and local authorities, there will be a framework that can be expanded upon. That is what I heard clearly from Ms Coad.
Listening to the witnesses' years of experience, I was thinking about how it all started. Did the Tánaiste advocate for walking to be brought in as part of transport or how did it get going in Wicklow? I do not mean to say "Wicklow of all places", but Wicklow. It is phenomenal. Ms Coad referred to Wicklow as being the playground for Dublin. It would be our greatest fear in Galway that we would have rural depopulation and become the playground for the east. I would hate to think that would happen. However, at the same time, if the playground is for our own, then there can be tourism and economic benefits and it can serve as a driver for the local economic area. Do the witnesses see the economic driver impact resulting from the investment in Wicklow?
Ms Carol Coad:
How it started in Wicklow is that we had this tidal wave of outdoor recreation activity 20 years ago that the rest of the country has been experiencing since Covid. When we look at the details, such as surveys, Mountaineering Ireland conducted a recent survey that found that 78% of people who recreate outdoors do so in County Wicklow.
We have had this influx of people, in our county and coming to our county, for so long that 15 years ago it was bananas. We had an insightful director of services looking after amenity in Wicklow County Council who said, "Coillte are doing their thing. The park are doing their thing. We have people ringing us and complaining. We need to sit down around a table and figure this out." That is how the outdoor recreation committee started, very much as an information-sharing group. Most of the members are still there. At that point in time I worked for Coillte; now I do not. Most of those people are still around that table so it is a long relationship. There is a lot of trust. There is a lot of depth of understanding and information sharing that we have had over those years. That is how it began.
Then we moved into an area where, with the Wicklow Way being spread over loads of different landowners, we asked how that gets managed. The Wicklow Way management group, which, I am sure, Mr. Byrne will talk about, came out of that outdoor recreation committee and that helped us to secure a bit of funding to upgrade the Wicklow Way and fix signage and that kind of stuff.
Do we see it as an economic driver? We do 100%. The car traffic passing through Laragh village on a bank holiday weekend Saturday has been measured at 45,000 cars. Laragh has a pub, a shop, a little café and a restaurant. Why are 45,000 people coming there? They are going to Glendalough because that is what they know or they are going hillwalking because it is a hub. Absolutely, there is an economic benefit to be gained from that. We have not unlocked that to the extent that we would like to but we do a lot of work with businesses, both on the ground and in the community, to try and help them to innovate to understand what these day-trippers want, how do we get them to go for their walk and how do we provide them with something they want to pay for in our local community. We are working hard on that. We have not unlocked it to the extent we would like to.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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Forty-five thousand cars going through a village is phenomenal. I am elected in Portumna when 4,500 cars come across the bridge every day. We are the gateway into Connacht, when you come across the bridge. We are the gateway, when you are going over the bridge the other way, into the midlands. We have not unlocked that, by manner or means, even though we have a blueway, a greenway and a forest park. We have it all, but we are struggling to have a piece of what Ms Coad has in how to unlock that.
It is an unfortunate piece. Waterways Ireland has set it out well that when it invests money, there is a certain economic benefit to a region for every €100,000 that is put in. Somewhere along the line, it is about looking at how, as a State, we are investing in outdoor recreation, in our walkways and in rural tourism. We need to look at what it is, how we can support groups on the ground and how we can learn from the likes of Ms Coad. Ms Coad's story is phenomenal, but connectivity, and people, and investment in that piece, with the skill set, is most important. Ms Coad, coming from Coillte, probably came with a huge amount of knowledge in her offerings.
Ms Carol Coad:
It certainly helped to unlock where we can do things because I knew who to speak to. I knew who to ask the questions of. I knew what might be good for X, Y and Z.
On the economic part, we do not shy away from that in any way. We cannot put up a poster telling people that if they come to Wicklow, they need to spend €10, but I would like to do so because we are providing their recreation and therefore they need to reward the people who live here and provide that for them. This year, we started having Wicklow Way merchandise boxes along the route. Somebody can buy a Wicklow Way hat, which is very basic, but it costs €10. The messaging is that buyers are contributing to the maintenance fund for the Wicklow Way. It is almost like cost-free advertising. We might make enough money to buy a new gate by the end of the year but that is not what it is about; it is about building awareness.
I might pass to Mr. Byrne here.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Chair, for your leniency.
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
The Wicklow Way is an iconic trail for the nation but, obviously, it is our gem. It was opened in 1982. We have a management group comprising Coillte, the national park, Dublin Mountains Partnership and the local authority. The 132 km trail traverses all of their lands, not to mention the lands of private landowners. The part of the trail owned by private landowners comprises just 23 km of the 132 km. These are the guys who are in the walks scheme.
As the committee can see, there is a huge overlap of stuff that somebody needs to have an overarching view of. Between the Wicklow Way management group and the Wicklow outdoor recreation committee, that is achieved. Those people make decisions about the best way to manage all of that. The establishment of the trail crews was one of their initiatives. The ORIS applications are also channelled through that committee. That is good because everybody can have an input into decisions on what funding we apply for. Before I got there, we applied for funding for counters and since then, I have installed them. We are starting to get counter data from places, and surprising information from them. The Sugarloaf counter, for instance, is putting up 120,000 people per year. That is a lot of people. You can see how easy it is to get your money back from a €500,000 investment with 120,000 people every year using it.
As the Senator says, there is a commercial benefit for those who are operating small businesses in the county but there is also a health benefit for those who use the infrastructure we are building. By keeping it in good condition for ourselves in Wicklow, we will have knock-on benefits for the tourism division. We kind of look at it in a way that involves thinking about what we want in Wicklow in the first instance. If we build something nice for ourselves, we will build something nice for visitors to come and see.
On other initiatives we have, Ms Coad started the "Wicklow Outdoors" brand a couple of years ago. We also have a brand for the Wicklow Way now. These are useful tools to get people interested, and to familiarise them with the fact that there are people looking after all of this stuff. You can buy things. They are tokens, maybe, but they create an awareness that there is a whole team of people behind the outdoor recreation strategy and the delivery of that in Wicklow.
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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I am sitting here in awe of what has been achieved in Wicklow. In east Galway, we have the Hymany Way going through Portumna but it comes all the way from the Cathaoirleach's area and goes further afield. It travels all the way up towards Northern Ireland. Patrick Sarsfield got married in Portumna. We have never re-enacted the marriage of Patrick Sarsfield. At the same time, I do not think we have an overall county strategy for the Hymany Way, which is a fantastic piece. We have monastic walks, but we could learn from all that Ms Coad and Mr. Byrne have achieved, even the counter piece. That is phenomenal. The branding is phenomenal. Going back to what Ms Coad said at the start, it is about investment in outdoor recreation. There is huge value in it. There is an economic driver in it, but maybe there has to be more collective thinking - it is what I go back to - between the counties as well. I thank them for their time and for sharing their vast experience here this morning.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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On my own behalf, it is interesting to see experiences from other counties. Certainly, from reading their introduction pieces last night, and Ms Coad mentioned it, they have been so far advanced for many years. Many counties, such as my own, Cork, are only catching up. We had the Department in before Ms Coad and Mr. Byrne this morning. Maybe Ms Coad would outline how exactly the partnership has advanced in recent times. How can it be a tutor for all the other counties that are trying to catch up? There is quite a will within the Department to do elsewhere what they have put in place in Wicklow for many years. There was mention this morning about the county outdoor recreation officers. Wicklow has that in place already in many cases, or an equivalent, but without funding.
They mentioned that it is down to the local authority and that there was a drive within the local authority to see that there would be goodness in this to bring it forward. Certainly, experiences such as the experience in County Wicklow could benefit many local authorities as they grapple with trying to get that up. Would Ms Coad explain how her great title, outdoor recreation strategy activation officer, can work within the Department's structures and strategy and how it can drive it forward?
Ms Carol Coad:
A lot of what we have achieved has been due to having the right people in the right place at the right time, and a lot of trust between the players involved, which allowed us to be brave. When we sat around the table and said we needed to do something new, we were not shot down. Yes, there was a bit of pushback on how we would do this or that, but it was always "Yes, and" and never "No, that is a bad idea". It was about pulling out the thought process to get everybody on board. I suppose we are just pushy. I was the rural recreation officer, RRO. Five years ago, I left Coillte and got the job as Wicklow RRO. It is fabulous. What a nice job and what a nice area to work in. As a county we went from looking after about 50 participants on the Wicklow Way, and Aaron has added three new trails. It just emerged that I looked after all the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, ORIS, applications for the county council because I had the experience with Coillte and because I had the interest. They asked me whether I would write the applications, I did and then we got them all. Suddenly we went from having an RRO to an RRO with a whole heap of other money that had to be spent. As soon as we got those, we got one or two done and then a new cycle was open, so I needed to come up with a whole bunch of more projects and apply for them. Very quickly we had about €3 million in the bank, and me. I put my hand up and said that it was too much work for one person and that I could not do it, so we created the outdoor recreation strategy activation officer role. We also had our own strategy and it was my responsibility to drive that too. We created that role to drive forward with the strategy. I used ORIS really as the delivery mechanism to make that strategy happen. We would look and say, for example, that we have a theme in the strategy about inclusion and disability so I would apply for money to do a feasibility study on having six access points to the outdoors for people with a physical disability. Once the local authority committed to funding that role, because obviously it was helping them quite a lot in getting ORIS funding and getting things done, we then advertised and recruited Aaron into the RRO position, which has now grown to be way more than a standard RRO position. Just being unafraid to keep pushing is very much where we still are now. We are pushy with substance.
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
Our local development company, LDC, is also quite forward thinking. Both of us are housed there. Most LDCs only have an RRO and most LDCs' RRO will do the local development company ORIS applications just for their company, which is a maximum four projects. Generally speaking, most people would not get all or everything they ask for there but we were getting ten or 12 in total every year. As Carol has said, we deliver those for the LDC and for the county council.
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
Yes, that is good. The LDC also housed the trail crew, which is currently one person but we are very close to getting the second one. I think it is generally accepted we could probably do with four. That would look after the outdoor recreation facilities for the whole county regardless of whose land it is on, be it Coillte, the National Parks and Wildlife Service or the county council. That is the kind of model going forward there. That contribution from the LDC is good too.
Ms Carol Coad:
It is a very important host because it is like an independent broker. Bernie Byrne, who is our trail manager and trail maintenance person, is wonderful but works for the LDC and works to Aaron rather than being a county council person, so is not within the structure and the limitations of what one can do within a local authority. We are able to be much more nimble and quick.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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How does the partnership's structure coincide with the Department structure that is there now? The Department mentioned it is in the position of rolling out the rural recreation officers and it is doing county plans now in relation to it. How does the County Wicklow Partnership fit into that?
Ms Carol Coad:
This is a conversation we have had a few times. Obviously, the national strategy and the RRO position is pretty much based on our model, with the difference being that the RRO position is sitting within a local sports partnership, LSP, which is primarily a local authority position. For us we had a lot of this stuff done. We had an outdoor recreation committee and a strategy, and then the national structure came afterwards. It is pretty easy for us to roll forward into that model. Going back to the Cathaoirleach's specific question-----
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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How does Ms Coad's specific role and office fit into the national strategy that is there now in terms of the county plans and so on?
Ms Carol Coad:
It is imperative. Because of where I sit within the local development company, I still have that direct line with the outdoor recreation committee. I still sit around that table even though I am now driving forward a county plan rather than a county strategy. It is much easier to get stuff done from the LDC table.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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Is it the intention to have an outdoor recreation strategy activation officer in every local authority or every local-----
Ms Carol Coad:
When they started looking at the outdoor recreation officer role, they did come to me and ask me to help put the role profile together. I gave them my role profile and said I thought that it works pretty well, and there you go. It has changed a fair bit in that ORIS is not part of that RRO role profile, which I understand because some counties have different mechanisms to deliver the ORIS schemes. The fact that we discuss ORIS and that we short-list those projects around that table with all the landowning agencies is what makes them such a success because there is buy-in from everybody involved. It is pulled away from the local authority, although obviously they sit at the table because it is their money and their projects, and they are very happy to work in collaboration with all the other agencies around the table. There is not a plan to have my position in each county. There is a plan to have the outdoor recreation officer but that is at a community development officer level, which is very much around participation and rolling out programmes rather than strategic decisions and influence.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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Where will they be based? Is it with the local authorities?
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I come from a rural part of County Cork, which is quite large. It is very similar to Wicklow in its geographical size. How does Mr. Byrne manage the existing walk schemes, the smaller walks schemes and the larger ones for which the partnership has achieved so much funding?
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
As RRO, a core part of that role is the walk scheme administration. As I said, I have only 66 participants. The Cathaoirleach's county has over 300, I believe, and there are two RROs there. I find the role of the walk scheme administration in Wicklow not terribly onerous on time. It is only 23 km a trail on the Wicklow Way. That is not much to get around a couple times a year. They are inspected by Sport Ireland. The ORIS part is a much larger time-consumer for me, but that is okay too. As a rural recreation officer, I am also dealing with trail management organisations across the whole Sport Ireland network of walks in Wicklow, which is 69 different trails, ranging from 2 km to 10 km. There are a lot of places but there are management structures there for those in the trail management organisations, TMOs. We are in constant contact with those as well. Within the County Wicklow Partnership, I have the trail group to look after too. The outdoor recreation officer, ORO, role is a different role from mine. It also needs to be remembered that in the initialisation of the RRO scheme and the walk scheme way back in 2008, it was purposely put into the local development company so that engagement would be easier with landowners, farmers and so on. It should stay there.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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My final question is to ask how the partnership interacts with other groups, both outside and inside the country, to benchmark its experiences and how it would like to profile going forward.
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
The main agents we have daily dealings with are Coillte, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the County Council, and some private land owners. However, those three Government agencies, so to speak, are the three key players. There is a really good relationship in Wicklow between those groups. We all know each other for many decades in one guise or another through mountain rescue or Coillte.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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Would you benchmark internationally, in terms of your own experience?
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
Yes. Actually, we have a programme going at the moment with LEADER. It is a joint programme between ourselves in Wicklow, a LEADER project in Luxembourg, and a LEADER project in Finland. We are hosting them next week for four days. We will probably entertain them as well. We were in Luxembourg earlier this year for four days. It is interesting to know that when we go to these places they have exactly the same problems we have. That makes us feel a little less lonely, but also makes it a little bit more perplexing in some ways because nobody seems to have it all figured out. There are little bits and pieces coming back from each other and that is a positive thing to do. I am developing a preventive maintenance software programme in the LEADER project, which will schedule the activity of Ms Bernie Byrne and other trail crew. Ms Coad has piloted some eco-toilets in Wicklow, which are badly needed. These are our two projects and the LEADER companies from the other two countries will demonstrate what they are working on over the three-year period the programme runs over.
Ms Carol Coad:
Each agency picks two things it will showcase to the others. The output of the project will be a best practice case study guide. Mr. Byrne's preventative maintenance software is something that can be used worldwide. The eco-toilet issue is the biggest thing thrown at us every time from the public, namely, why there are no toilets in the car parks. LEADER was another way for us to garner funding. We had applied to the ORIS, for funding for the preventative maintenance software and did not achieve it. It is something Mr. Byrne knew we needed and something he has the technical know-how to do, so we decided to find the money somewhere else. That is something we have done quite well in Wicklow. We know what we want to achieve and we have a joint decision on where we want to get to, so we go and find the money to make it happen. It does not matter if it always comes through ORIS. Sometimes we go cap-in-hand to the local authority and say we need another, perhaps, €20,000 to get a project over the line. At this point we have proven our ability to deliver a really quality product. It tends to trust us. We do not find it too difficult to find the funding.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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Finally, could Ms Coad briefly provide some details on the eco-toilet project?
Ms Carol Coad:
Yes. The Great Sugar Loaf is a real family place to go. It is quite dramatic. An eight-year-old child can get up it in half an hour and really feel like they have climbed a big mountain. An eight-year-old child often needs a loo. If someone parks in the carpark and looks in the ditch, it is full of toilet paper. It is horrible. We have that problem replicated across so many sites in Wicklow caused by the levels of visitors and the lack of toilets. We found a unit that Wexford County Council had installed on Cahore beach. For all intents and purposes it is a really fancy portaloo. It looks absolutely gorgeous. Depending on how busy the area is, it gets emptied possibly twice a year or four times a year. Coillte trialled them at a couple of its sites. We knew the unit. We knew it worked. We asked LEADER for the money to pilot them in three locations. I put them in locations where the county council already had a portaloo contract so we had a maintenance schedule in place and it was not going to take any extra financial commitment to get them serviced. They are in and have been open for around five weeks. Their success is very much dependent on the kind of people that use the area. We have one in a family recreation area in Roundwood where there is an automatic gate locked in the evening. That helps against the antisocial behaviour issue. That is, to my great surprise, spotlessly clean every day of the week. We have a really good guy from the local authority who replaces the toilet paper twice a week and makes sure there is hand sanitizer in it. They are fully self-contained. They do not need running water and they do not need power. They are a dry unit.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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What is the cost?
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the witnesses for answering those questions.
Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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I am very impressed by what I am hearing. I am interested in the idea around the loo. Is Coillte on board with that with its properties?
Ms Carol Coad:
These three toilets are not on any Coillte sites, because I needed them to be on local authority sites so I could use their maintenance contracts. However, Coillte have the same unit in Donadea, County Kildare and Tintern, County Wexford. Donadea is hugely busy and they are emptied every two weeks. Tintern is not so busy and I think it has been emptied once since it has been in.
Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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My question was whether Coillte was on board, because that is one of the main problems I see in our area. I am from County Cavan. For years the west of our county was seen as the tourism side. The east was not because it is more industrialised and it has a higher population. I used to try to get a focus more on where the people were, but it is seen as not as beautiful. I do not see that. My local town has a forest with a complete loop lake walk, which is unusual. I think there are only two in the country. We are fighting for space with everyone else. Who did the witnesses include in their strategy? Lots of people walk in the forest. We had counters in and in one day we had 600 people in a very small forest. We are sharing our space with people on mountain bikes and on horses. People go to the forest to walk safely because many of the roads are narrow and they cannot walk safely. There is a lot of unhappiness about how crowded our spaces are and how many people we are sharing them with. Has the County Wicklow Partnership allowed for equine trails or pump tracks?
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
We also have that issue. We have areas where private landowners do not want horses on their land. Coillte does not want horses on its land. Activity like that is not insured. However, Ms Coad did open one horse trail on Coillte ground. That is licensed, as such, and dedicated to horses. Bikes are very difficult to work around.
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
We have one in Wicklow with Coillte. It operates by somebody going on to Coillte's habitat area management system, HAMS, website. There they can get a permit. Somebody will then meet them at the site and open the gate. They can then bring their horses and vehicles in and somebody will lock it after them. That is in a forested area where not so many walkers go. That was selected specifically for that. We have to manage horse traffic and bike traffic on the Wicklow Way, for instance. That is a problem. Neither is allowed on the Wicklow Way.
Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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That is one of my questions. Who is permitted to use these tracks? Coillte had always said horses were not allowed in the forests, yet there was no signage up.
It was confusing but there are still horses using-----
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
We find that even the signage will not make any difference because it is a policing problem. Wicklow is full of Coillte forests. You could not possibly be on top of it. A lot of it happens early in the morning. It is probably the same people, and the same areas, most times. It is not a widespread problem; it is a pocketed thing. It is very difficult to keep them out. We have put in lots of infrastructure to try to keep them out. For instance, a section of the Wicklow Way was upgraded last year with €40,000 worth of trail repairs and we cannot keep the horses off it. It is just a nightmare trying to keep the horses off it.
Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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That is what I am saying. We need to provide-----
Ms Carol Coad:
Yes, exactly. We have got to provide a facility for them. It is the same with unauthorised mountain biking. Coillte's recreation strategy outlines specific areas for biking and horse riding. Horse riding is permitted by agreement with the local forest manager in the vast majority of sites, once riders have a permit, which they can apply for through Coillte systems. The one we put in at Glenmalure was to test a dedicated equestrian trail run on a pilot basis with Coillte. We run it through one of the Horse Sport Ireland, HSI, affiliates to ensure that everyone is insured. Riders have to be a member of a certain HSI affiliate to be allowed to use it. That is what we have got to provide. We cannot just say that people cannot do something. We have got to provide an alternative, but I do not know how one could police 132 km of trail on the Wicklow Way.
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
In that case, at Knockree, it is a daily use problem. It is people exercising their horses in the morning or evening. We put boulders in place but they managed their way around that. We put bigger ones in place but they managed their way around that as well. They were coming in and out through the river. We put fences along the river bank to try to stop them doing that, so that if they got in, they could not get out. It is a constant battle but one we will keep playing.
Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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Antisocial behaviour is another problem we have. Our forests are really well used, which is good to see, but we have fires, camping and some littering as well. Nobody polices that. Are there any plans anywhere for that, including rangers? Does the County Wicklow Partnership have park rangers?
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
In respect of Ms Bernie Keogh's role as trail crew, we selected her - and everybody else we will in future - based on ambassadorial skills. They are doing maintenance but they need to be seen to be doing it. They also need to be able to interact with the public when they are out on the trail and give the messaging that we want to impart.
On antisocial behaviour, we have a couple of hot spots, as every county does, but one of the key things we try to do is make sure that the place looks really well. If a place does not look cared for, then it seems the antisocial behaviour becomes even worse in that area. We are struggling with a particular valley in Wicklow, where a lot of antisocial camping is taking place. We are trying to work through that with the local authority, the parking facilities there, and the local community on what they want to see. Their fields or gates are getting blocked up by people camping and so on. That is a collaborative effort at the work level. Coillte is there, as is the park, representation for private landowners through myself, and the local authority. Being able to make decisions at the county recreation level helps to figure out what the best way is to fix that. Often, it is not about a larger car park.
Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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Does Mr. Byrne feel that there should be some specific regulations, guidelines or even wardens?
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
The regulations and guidelines are fairly clear regarding horses, bikes, litter and camping. Everybody knows you are not supposed to litter. If we take the recreation amenities as a separate entity, I do not know how many wardens we would need to really police something like that. It is a huge area. It has so many little niches and, off up into the mountains, 120 km-long trails. It would require an awful lot of people to police that. Maybe it is not a policing issue but more a community one. Everybody in the community is a set of eyes to police antisocial behaviour. We try to impart the message to people to look after their own amenities as best they can. I do not think it is feasible to police the whole place 24-7. It is generally a late night problem rather than a middle of the day problem. It is challenging on that front. We certainly would prefer to have more litter wardens and dog wardens, but that is not the only answer.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I have two more questions. Will Mr. Byrne and Ms Coad give me their understanding and experience of how creating disability access is so important now? We want to make sure all our walks, trails and outdoor recreation are open for everybody.
Ms Carol Coad:
That is a big focus of our current ORIS applications, which we are we waiting for decisions on, and also of our outdoor recreation plan for the next couple of years. We have some great providers in County Wicklow who are very open to working with us. If we can provide equipment, they will provide instructors and get it going.
One particular project I have just had funded is a Seatrac system for Wicklow Harbour, which is right in the middle of the town. It is a complete hot spot for all the kids, and lots of grown-ups swim there a lot. There is a lovely sauna on the side. It just has a real community vibe. There is an old slip and a pebble beach. We saw a system - we took a trip I need to talk about as well - that was self-propelled. It is like a Stannah chairlift to get you down into the water. A disabled person will come across in his or her wheelchair, or an elderly person who cannot cope with the uneven ground of a pebble beach, sit into a chair with a remote control, which then lowers that person down into the water. He or she can swim, get back onto the chair and come back out again. It needs a steady platform to work on, hence the old slip and why we applied for it for Wicklow. Again, we put that through ORIS. It is coming as a pilot. We will run it for a while at Wicklow Harbour and will then try to replicate it in other areas along the coast.
The second big project we have had funded this year, which I was delighted to get across the line, was a feasibility study and project development measure. The focus of that is to identify six areas in the county for access for people with a physical disability to outdoor recreation: two to the water; two on bikes; and two to the upland areas, which will probably involve a modified wheelchair. The bikes are where the links with the LSP really make life easy and help us to get a lot done. We have identified a specific type of mountain bike, which is an off-road mountain bike. We have funding for two in Ballinastoe, which is a Coillte mountain bike facility that is free of charge to use. There is a commercial operator there, Biking.ie, run by Niall Davis. He has been working with us on his being able to house those there and managing their roll-out. We use the LSP to fund that. We would like to replicate that in a couple of other areas in the county.
The whole area of facilitating disabled people is huge for us. It is often not that big a deal. It is about those three steps. It is not a whole new programme and a whole new room. We just need to figure out how to get through those three steps. Ms Aisling Hubbard, who manages the LSP, and I got some funding last year through a sports inclusion programme. We went on a bit of a fact-finding mission. We had funding to do an EU trip to look at disabled access to outdoor recreation. We went to Hossegor in France, where the World Para Surfing Championships were held. There were double amputees surfing big waves and people with no limbs bodysurfing. We went over there thinking the organisers were going to have this amazing infrastructure, we would copy and it would be great, but they did not. They just had more helpers, they had the right wheelchair to get people into the water and they had six people helping. It really opened our eyes to see that this was not actually hard. We just need to have the right people trained in the right way, and the right small pieces of infrastructure, to open this world for everybody else.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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In terms of counters and maintenance, how many walks are there counters on? There is always a challenge with funding maintenance. How does the County Wicklow Partnership cope with this? Does it have access to community employment schemes and other such schemes as part of this?
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
The counters are quite interesting. County Wicklow Partnership has seven counters, which are as strategically located as best we thought we could, particularly for access to the uplands. They have been providing data to inform us which ORIS applications to make, such as for an upland path restoration project or whatever. The NPWS also has counters. It has 12 or 14 but they are primarily around Glendalough. Coillte has some counters, especially in the Dublin mountains. The issue with the counters is that we need to grab all of the information together to get a fuller picture of the county to see where people are going. If we count them going in one way, where do they come out? This is especially the case in the mountains. Counters are an expensive way to count people but they are quite reliable. The interpretation of this information is even more important. If it is interpreted wrongly it could lead to bad decisions. This is something we are looking at. Fáilte Ireland has been helping with this. We recently met some people involved in the visitor management plan for Glendalough, which Fáilte Ireland is undertaking with the local authority. It has some statisticians who are able to interpret the information. We have tentatively approached them to see whether they can help us to interpret the county's data. Another issue is that each agency gets its own data. In the past year we have started getting better at sharing the information among us all.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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And the maintenance?
Mr. Aaron Byrne:
The local authority was approached in 2023. I was on a Wicklow recreation committee call and I was new to the job at the time. I knew the local authority was on the call and that the municipal districts are generally seen as responsible for items on trails. In my naivety I asked it to look at a few places. Of course the municipal districts are completely stretched and they are not really set up for going up into parts of the Wicklow Way and remote places. Through County Wicklow Partnership I put together a proposal to get funding from the local authority. In other words, if it could not give us the people I asked it to give us the money and we would get the people. A year later, Bernie Byrne started on the project. It is 85% funded by the local authority and Coillte, the NPWS and Dublin Mountains Partnership also contribute. Each of them contributed €5,000 per year for the Wicklow Way management group funding. This was the first part of the funding of €20,000. I suggested to the Wicklow Way management group that it give me this funding so that I could put it towards one person in a company vehicle supplied with tools. Everything is very light touch. No major jobs are undertaken by the maintenance crew. The local authority supplemented the rest. It has since added budget lines in its annual budget, and the funding is increasing year on year, which is very positive. If we can get a second person we can start to make a real difference. For the local authority, 75% of the volume of ORIS infrastructure being planted every year is in the ownership of the local authority. It is in its interests to look after this investment. Some of the other ORIS projects do not require maintenance, such as a footfall and rainfall monitoring project in the uplands this coming cycle. The local authority is pretty keen to keep trail maintenance separated from the overall municipal district maintenance that takes place in parks.
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that and I thank Mr. Byrne. I thank the witnesses very much for attending today. I thank Ms Coad and Mr Byrne for their time and effort on the development and operation of rural recreation programmes and how recreation in the outdoors can be promoted and enhanced. I also recognise the chair of the County Wicklow Partnership, Liz Wall, who is here today in the Gallery. I thank her for joining us. I thank the committee members for contributing. It gives us a great insight into how people have ploughed a furrow for many years. Other counties are now trying to follow suit. The witnesses have given a great insight into what can be done when there is a partnership approach.