Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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914. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if the walkway scheme will be expanded to include farmers' properties in Gurteen, County Sligo to include the Bera Breifne Walkway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12520/18]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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My Department administers the Walks Scheme which facilitates the development and maintenance of many of Ireland’s walking trails. The scheme involves landholders as key participants in the provision of high quality walking trails, by contracting them to undertake maintenance work on sections of National Way Marked Ways and other priority walks that traverse their lands. The landholders receive modest payments for maintenance work undertaken, in line with agreed work plans.

The scheme currently covers 39 trails, with payments made to approximately 1,900 landholders to maintain those trails.

I intend to look at the scheme’s operation this year in order to determine how best to expand the scheme.  This exercise will inform any decisions to be made regarding new walks to be included in the scheme, including walks or parts of walks in Co. Sligo and all other counties.

Significant consultation will be required with both landholders and other stakeholders, but by the end of the year I would expect to see progress made on identifying a number of additional priority walks to be covered by the scheme.