Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 76: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the main features on the initiative to provide outdoor facilities for walkers and cyclists announced by him on 22 November 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32600/07]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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At the outset, I would like to clarify for the Deputy, that while I launched the "Welcome Initiative" jointly with Minister of State, Mary Wallace T. D., on behalf of Coillte and Fáilte Ireland, my Department has no involvement in — or responsibility for — the initiative itself. The project is funded by Fáilte Ireland (which is the responsibility of the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism) and administered by Coillte (which is the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food).

There are two parts to the initiative:

1.The new Coillte outdoors website (www.coillteoutdoors.ie) which allows anyone interested in outdoor recreation in Ireland to research and plan activities around the country. The website provides maps and information on different types of trails which people can visit on Coillte lands, which include eleven forest parks and over 150 recreation sites throughout the country; and

2.The second part of the initiative sees the delivery of 250 km of walking, hiking and biking trails at 34 sites across the country. This involves the upgrading of existing trails and construction of new ones. There will be investment in car parks, way marking and signage installed to increase public awareness of the access to the countryside that Coillte lands provide.

While I am not involved in the funding or administration of the programme, the Coillte initiative ties in very closely with initiatives my own Department is rolling out through Comhairle na Tuaithe. These involve increasing access for recreational users and developing recreational facilities across the country.

As the single largest landowner in the State with over 440,000 ha. (1.1 million acres, circa 6% of total land area) of forest and open land and, as a member organisation of Comhairle na Tuaithe, Coillte is playing a key role in both of these areas. I would like to acknowledge, therefore, their commitment and work to date.