Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Dowds for introducing this legislation. I welcome the Bill, which aims to increase the amount of private land that is accessible to the public for recreational activities such as walking, orienteering and cycling. Recreational users of the countryside have few rights. Most legal rights to do with access are on the side of the landowner. The only places in Ireland where there is freedom to roam are the national parks. Although they include some of the most scenic areas, they cover only about 1% of the country.

Walking is by far the most popular activity-based form of tourism in Ireland, attracting 743,000 overseas visitors annually. Surveys reveal that the Irish scenery is the second biggest draw for overseas visitors, according to Fáilte Ireland in 2012. In recent years, there has been a welcome increase in the number of walking tourists coming to Ireland, but from a very low base. We estimate that the income from walking tourism is less than a quarter of that of Scotland, a country of similar size, terrain and climate. Foreign walkers, accustomed in their home countries to extensive, clearly delineated walking areas, are bewildered on coming here when they find they cannot know for certain where they can or cannot walk.

Like Deputy Broughan, I am fortunate to be a Deputy for Dublin North East, which contains the scenic Howth Head and Howth Peninsula, where there are several walking trails that are much enjoyed by walkers. I have made use of the amenity on many occasions over many years, as have the citizens of Dublin and the east coast.

I wish to raise a relevant issue that has already been referred to in respect of the Bill. Recently, the erection of a gate on a traditional walkers’ path on Howth Head has been challenged by local people. Regular walkers in the area are angry about a decision by Fingal County Council not to take action over the matter. Members of Howth Pathways have formally asked Fingal County Council, their council, to reconsider its decision that a recently erected gate, 170 m from Heather Cottage on east mountain, is an exempted development.

The request, by local people, under section 5 of the Planning and Development Act is the first step in a process which could see An Bord Pleanála being asked to determine whether the gate is in an area covered by a special area amenity order and in breach of planning regulations.

Hill walkers had traditionally enjoyed access to hundreds of acres of heathland at Howth east mountain, with panoramic views over the Irish Sea. One of the routes links the Upper Cliff Road with the cliff walk around Howth Head. About halfway along this route is Heather Cottage, a stone clad, five bedroom house that was completed by Treasury Holdings in 2004. Since new residents took possession of the house in late 2010, locals say new fencing and a gate have been put up and signs erected declaring the area to be "Private". Howth Pathways group claims the pathway has been planted with daffodils and other non-native species, apparently overlooking a planning ban on non-native species in the special amenity area order. The walkers say the effect has been to suburbanise the heathland and turn what they see as a traditional pathway into a private access driveway.

In comparison with other northern European countries, Ireland has very restrictive land access laws. In recent years Scotland, England and Wales have all relaxed access laws on uncultivated lands. The right to roam, based on respect for the countryside, has survived in its purest form in Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, giving people the opportunity to hike across others' land. This includes the complete right of access to beaches, the foreshore, dunes and cliffs. While these rights come with responsibilities such as the obligation on walkers not to harm, disturb, litter or damage wildlife or crops, the right of access to private land legislation in Sweden is somewhat unique. Enshrined in Sweden's constitution and enjoyed by everyone is the right of public access, which gives one the right to roam the countryside in peace and quiet without someone having to tell an individual to get off his or her land, as is currently happening in Howth.

Unless somebody is deliberately trampling all over somebody's back garden or a farmer's cultivated field, in Scotland there is a long tradition of access to most land, as confirmed in the Land Reform Act 2003. Walkers have a similar statutory right of responsible access to all lands, similar to that in Scandinavia, except for railway lands, airfields, harbours, quarries, standing crops, gardens and the immediate vicinity of private homes.

In England and Wales there are over 225,000 km of off-road routes classed as public rights of way, with numerous other parts such as bridle paths, towpaths and disused railway lines. The UK Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 gave walkers right of access to most areas of uncultivated land, comprising about 1.4 million ha of open space, including mountains, moors, heaths, downs, commons and national parks. The Act was bitterly opposed, but since implementation there has been barely a murmur of dissent.

In Spain, the Canaries, the Pyrenees and other major mountain areas all have well developed networks of pathways. There is a right of access to river and canal banks. There is an ambitious plan to link the entire country by a network of paths and cycle ways made up of historic pathways, bridle ways, strovers roads, disused railway lines, old roads and towpaths. For example, the GR 99 Camino Natural del Ebro is a recently opened 1,280 km marked path along the entire route of the River Ebro.

In Ireland I welcome the opening of the Westport to Achill cycle way which I have used. It runs along a disused railway line and is now a major tourist attraction which is increasing in popularity all the time. If one travels west, one will see others travelling in cars with bicycles strapped to the back who want to use the facility when they go to Westport, Achill or other places in the west. It is very welcome for the tourism industry.

Ireland is at a competitive disadvantage in attracting overseas visitors. Many walking routes are long roads rather than land and a lack of signage leaves tourists confused about where precisely they are allowed to walk. As far as I understand, it has been the sad experience of walkers and the public in general that local authorities have been less than effective in their handling of rights of way and access disputes. I have given the example of Howth east mountain. I have not heard of any case in which a local authority has taken effective action to help the rights of walkers, no matter how justified a case a walker may have.

It is important to point out that under the Bill county councils would have to consider potential inconvenience to the occupier of the land when designating land for recreational use. All cultivated land, improved or semi-improved grassland and land surrounding a habitable dwelling would be ineligible for designation as access land. This is on a par with the position in the countries to which I referred.

The purpose of the Bill, which I welcome, is to provide for the public orderly legal access to recreational lands held in various forms of private ownership. It would ensure private owners whose land was declared to be access land would be fully indemnified for any legal action a member of the public might take against them arising from an accident occurring on the land. The Bill is intended to provide legal clarity between the rights of landowners and the general public in the use of land for recreational purposes. I commend the Bill to the House and thank Deputy Dowds for highlighting the issue which is of significant importance.

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