Madam, - I refer to the letter from Mr Michael Murphy in today's (28th April) Irish Times. In believing that widespread closures of access to the countryside are foreshadowed, Mr Murphy has misunderstood the situation. What is actually at stake is the possible partial closure of eight of the 31 National Network Waymarked Ways. On each of these ways farmers who participated in REPS (the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme) agreed with the Committee of the Way to open their property on the basis of their being able to avail of Supplement 5 of the REPS(1) scheme which provided a payment for access.
REPS(1) was a five-year scheme and when REPS(2) was prepared, the EU banned the payment of the access supplement. The agreement between the farmer and the way committee was thus void through no fault of either party. The National Waymarked Advisory Committee is hopeful that a solution to this problem will be found through the newly-formed Rural/Agri-Tourism Advisory Group of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
However much my committee would regret any closure, I must point out that on all the National Network trails landowners are at liberty to withdraw permission after giving a reasonable period of notice. Many hundreds of farmers have property which is crossed by a National Network trail, but very few have exercised this right, mostly for a valid reason such as change of use, change of owner. -Yours, etc.,
JOSS LYNAM, Chairman, NWWAC, Dublin 2