Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

Getting back to the matter in hand, has the Minister a sense of urgency in bringing this issue to some degree of finality? His reply refers to his establishment of an advisory group to report back to him at the end of this month. None of us expects that to be acted upon considering the current electoral cycle. To what extent does the formation of the advisory group advance the timescale given in the recommendations of Comhairle na Tuaithe? What advice has the Minister or his Department sought from the Attorney General on the first recommendations? Will the Minister or his Department ask the Law Reform Commission to undertake a report on this matter? Have any timescales been provided in respect of either of those two measures? There is an impression that this is an issue that will continue to rumble on because of a lack of appropriate political leadership.

His response about the lack of the refusal of direct State intervention for the use of walkways and rights of way in these circumstances seems to be a new nuance on the part of the Minister as the issue at hand is whether landowners will have the right to directly charge for their use. I would have thought the Minister was more emphatic on this issue in the past. No one involved in this issue has had any difficulty with the idea of compensation or the need for assistance in making the routes accessible for walkers but there is a great deal of controversy about being able to charge and to continue to charge for using open walkways in the countryside. I ask the Minister to be emphatic on that point in particular.

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