Officials in the Department of the Environment have overruled their own park authorities by granting a permit for a long-distance walk crossing State lands in Co Wicklow.
The Lug Walk, a 50km marathon across Co Wicklow's highest mountains, is to go ahead today after a last-minute decision allowing it to cross Wicklow Mountains National Park.
Earlier this month, the park manager, Mr Seán Casey, refused permission for the walk, saying the mountain areas were under "unprecedented pressure" from recreational users.
However, the organisers, the Irish Ramblers' club, decided to press ahead with their plans for the walk anyway.
Yesterday, Department officials overruled Mr Casey by issuing a permit for the walk. The decision has caused shock and anger among park staff, one of whom described it as "quite a blow".
"I know of no occasion when such a decision was overturned in this way. The matter had been thoroughly discussed with the park's advisory council and the Mountaineering Council of Ireland, and is sure to damage morale."
There has been widespread disquiet among staff dealing with wildlife, parks and national monuments since the Government decided last April to break up Dúchas, the Heritage Service, and re-assign its responsibilities to various Government departments.
Mr Casey declined to comment on the matter when contacted yesterday, apart from confirming that a permit had been issued.
A Department spokesman said the permit had been issued on appeal, in recognition of the logistics involved in stopping a walk at such short notice.
The permit is for 120 walkers, not the 250 originally sought, he said, and the organisers had been asked to keep the numbers down as much as possible.
Park authorities are worried about the erosion caused by large groups of walkers in fragile mountain environments.
Up to 200 walkers are expected to start today's event at 5 a.m. in defiance of advice from the IMC, the umbrella body for all walking clubs, including the Ramblers. It wrote to the club asking it to respect the park's decision.
The route, which takes an average of 15 hours to complete, passes through long stretches of national park including the peak of Lugnaquilla, at 925 metres.
Attempts to contact a Ramblers representative yesterday were unsuccessful.
The decision has divided walkers and even members of the Ramblers, one of the State's largest walking clubs. Yesterday, one member described the club's decision to continue with the walk as "perplexing".
He pointed out that erosion was significantly worse than in the 1980s, when the same problem prompted the organisers to change the event from an annual event to a biennial one.
However, others argue that the event causes minimal damage, compared to the overall effect of thousands of walkers in the Wicklow Mountains every weekend.
