Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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360. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the schemes her Department has rolled out in recent years; her plans to encourage and reward farmers to allow walking trails on their land; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18369/16]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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My Department administers the Walks Scheme, which is a trail maintenance scheme where landholders receive modest payments to maintain sections of National Way Marked Ways and other priority walks that traverse their lands.

The number of participants on the Walks Scheme currently stands at 1,908, covering a total of 39 trails. Payments to participants on the Scheme will be in the region of €1.8m for 2016.

Due to budgetary constraints, it has not been possible to bring additional trails onto the existing Walks Scheme since December 2010. There is a commitment inA Programme for a Partnership Governmentto expand the Walks Scheme and plans in that regard will be developed during 2016, with a view to rolling out an expanded scheme in 2017, subject to available funding.

The National Trails Office of Sport Ireland maintains a register of trails across the country and currently has 886 trails listed. Officials from my Department, in association with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, are exploring the possible designation of such walkways under the Basic Payments Scheme, including any possible implementation issues for farmers.