Susan O'Keeffe (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I had the pleasure of attending the launch of the Leitrim Recreation Strategy last Monday in Carrick-on-Shannon. This initiative is a fine example of collaboration by a large number of people to promote existing recreational facilities in the county and develop news ones, with a focus on waterways and land use, equestrian and walking in particular. Will the Leader facilitate a debate on the issue of rights of way? It is clear, for the sake of the health of the nation, that we must encourage citizens to walk more, which requires that there are places in which it is safe and pleasant to walk, both rurally and in urban areas. This is an area of significant potential growth for tourism.

The Leitrim Recreation Strategy initiative is just one example of people coming together throughout the country seeking to develop their area's recreational and tourism potential. Some of them will end up doing battle; in other cases, there will be a good outcome from encouraging landowners and farmers to accommodate walkers. The broad issues have been discussed before in this House, but I am calling for a debate which concentrates specifically on rights of way. Perhaps it is more suitable for a public consultation. What is important is that organisations like the forum in Leitrim can see we are giving serious attention to the issue that will make or break all such initiatives. We can all talk about the enormous potential for tourism and for our health in these types of initiatives, but it will remain a dream until such time as we find a resolution to the rights of way issue.