Some tour operators have already pulled out of Ireland as a destination for walkers, writes Seán MacConnell
The imprisonment of a Co Sligo farmer this week for failing to pay a €300 fine for threatening hillwalkers on his land has brought into focus again a growing problem for both hillwalkers and farmers across the country.
There is an increasing number of disturbing reports of walkers, many from abroad, being verbally abused, threatened and intimidated by farmers especially along the west coast. Some tour operators have already pulled out of Ireland as a destination for walkers.
The roots of the problem go back to the mid-1990s when the Office of Public Works was successfully sued by the parents of a child injured in a fall at a national monument.
The incident was seized upon by the insurance industry, especially FBD, the farmer-controlled organisation, which began a campaign to have every farmer in the country take out public liability insurance.
The companies were warning farmers that trespassers could successfully sue a landowner for injuries sustained while on their lands - no trespasser had successfully sued a property owner.
It was a highly successful campaign, which motivated the Irish Farmers Association to seek a change in the law to protect farmers from claims by people not specifically invited on to their lands.
The law was amended and this change was important in encouraging farmers who were becoming involved in the new Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) to allow access to ramblers in newly-created walks to promote rural tourism.
Unfortunately, in the review of the REPS scheme, the 500 or so farmers involved had the payment they received for allowing access removed. This led to the closure of portions of a number of walks and created friction between walkers and farmers.
The problems increased when a successful personal injury claim was taken against a Donegal landowner by a person who had not been given permission to walk on his lands. This is currently under appeal.
The ban on hillwalking and rambling imposed during the foot-and-mouth crisis in early 2001 increased tension. Hill farmers adopted a "fortress-farm" approach to keep walkers off their lands, and this has had a lasting legacy in many parts of the country, especially in areas where sheep farming is the mainstay of the economy.
Yet another issue has been raised by the ongoing row between the IFA and the Government over the designation of lands as Special Areas of Conservation or National Heritage Areas, which bring restrictions on how such lands can be used.
So the issue of recreational access has now been interwoven with the issue of property rights under the Constitution, which is currently being examined by a Joint Oireachtas Committee.
It heard last year from the Keep Ireland Open organisation that, because of the bad publicity about access, the number of walking visitors has declined from 322,000 in 1992 to 266,000 in 1999 and to 241,000 in 2001.
Nevertheless, the organisation estimated that walking tours were still worth €144 million annually to the economy, more than golf, angling or cycling.
Attempts are being made by tourism interests to develop the sector, which would bring much- needed revenue to areas where the land is poorest and off-farm income essential, not only for the farming community but the majority of people who are not landowners.
It would be too simple to conclude that farmers would settle for money from the State to allow access to their lands, but such a move would go some way to addressing some of the problems.
The Government will not concede, however, that every farmer should be paid to allow access to recreational land-users because of the cost and the legal principles involved.