Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 363: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the increased footfall in persons hill walking and walking in general in the countryside here, if his attention has been drawn to the effect that this is having in terms of erosion; and if so, the measures being taken to curb erosion due to this increased footfall in our countryside; if his further attention has been drawn to the continued illegal use of dune buggies, scramblers and other motor vehicles on our national trails; his plans to ensure that their continued illegal use is halted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34692/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The matters raised in this question relate to the responsibilities of a number of Government Departments and Agencies. These include my own Department which is responsible for the implementation of the National Countryside Recreation Strategy and the administration of the Walks Scheme; the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht with regard to the National Parks and Wildlife Services; the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport with regard to the Irish Sports Council / National Trails Office, and Fáilte Ireland among others.

Much work has been undertaken recent years to improve access to the countryside for recreational purposes and to develop the outdoor activity tourism sector. Outdoor recreation and activity tourism is a specific growth market which the Government is committed to developing, to support job creation and development opportunities in rural areas particularly.

The actions of many State Agencies and National Governing Bodies for outdoor activities are focussed through Comhairle Na Tuaithe (the Countryside Council) in delivering on the implementation of the National Countryside Recreation Strategy. Two of the Strategic Objectives of this Recreation Strategy are:-

1. To achieve sustainable and responsible recreation in the countryside.

2. To promote caring recreational use of the countryside.

The development of guidelines on how to reduce the negative environmental and social impacts of large-scale rural recreation events is one of the priority actions being considered by Comhairle na Tuaithe. Intervention is required on some popular walking routes to prevent damage to the environment. The work being done by voluntary groups in the Dublin and Wicklow mountains provides a positive example of the recreation community taking responsibility for its impact. In other areas, early light touch intervention could prevent the need for expensive and intrusive path repair in the future.

The Irish Sports Council established a National Trails Office in 2007 to monitor and maintain a register of all recreational trail development around the country. The National Trails Office also promotes standards on trails and coordinates a trail inspection programme where safety, environmental and other important issues, including evidence of erosion, are identified on developed trails and reported to local management groups. While maintenance systems are still not fully developed on a number of promoted trails, and funding is currently limited, the overall maintenance and upkeep of many developed walking trails throughout the country has improved significantly in recent years.

While it is generally not illegal to use dune buggies, scramblers and other motor vehicles on our national trails, it is undesirable and is usually prohibited. All such trails are on private property or lands owned by State Agencies such as Coillte. On Coillte lands, for example, the company has power to introduce by-laws to manage inappropriate activity and can subsequently enforce these as required.

Additionally, under Regulation 29 of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (which replaced earlier regulations), the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has power to regulate, by direction, activities in specified places where such activities are likely to damage or seriously disturb nature sites or species of wildlife protected under EU law . At present there are 15 such directions in force. Most of these relate to the use of recreational vehicles and are a mechanism to protect sensitive habitats such as Special Protection Areas (for birds) and Special Areas of Conservation.