Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Last Friday I had a very constructive meeting with representatives of the South Kerry Partnership who had some very good ideas. All the time we are trying to move forward. We are not wedded to the belief that this is the only proposal. We are considering creative ways to address the issues. However, from a psychological point of view I am not keen on charging people to climb mountains etc. because we would lose more than we would gain for tourism. I do not mind us investing in it and getting an indirect return as we invest in national parks. I agree with 90% of the IFA paper. However, the proposal for a standard payment per metre would create problems. The obvious one is very simple. If I start paying on 50 walks per metre, the people living around Carrauntuohill, Croagh Patrick and the Sugar Loaf in County Wicklow, all of which attract many climbers, would claim they need to maintain their——

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