Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I accept that, Minister, and I am not saying that it is not the intention. The difficulty is that, when the Minister announced the scheme, he did not say that it would need legislation. People believed the scheme would arrive sooner. However, that is as may be. The greater issue in many areas is the question of the controls that are in place in respect of walkers using lands. A man told me a couple of weeks ago that, when people came to walk through his land, someone would just pull up in a car, open the boot, three big Labradors would jump out and away they would go. Some kind of rule need to be in place. Most of this is happening in mountainous areas where there are sheep. The landowners are concerned that dogs are worrying their sheep. The dogs may not attack the sheep, but that they are there barking and howling and running up and down through what is essentially open countryside is causing a major problem. A tighter regime needs to be put in place to ensure that landowners feel protected. Ultimately, they are concerned about their livelihoods. Farmers also use commonages to graze sheep so that they can make a livelihood. If landowners are put under threat, the Minister will encounter major difficulties in trying to open up such areas.

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