Madam, - We note that the rather bizarre decision in the High Court to award €84,000 in damages to compensate a woman for injuries suffered when she slipped and fell down a cliff in Donegal has been set aside by the Supreme Court (The Irish Times, January 22nd).
This decision accords with the view of Keep Ireland Open that the onus of proof by a claimant to establish what the Occupiers Liability Act 1995 calls "reckless disregard" towards possible danger points to recreational users on private land should be extremely onerous. The Act is now 10 years in existence and we can reiterate that, in that time, there has been no successful case taken by a walker against a farmer.
Now can we expect the farm organisations to put this fear behind them and engage in meaningful dialogue with KIO to try to solve the increasing problems affecting the rights of ordinary citizens and visitors to reasonable access to the countryside? - Yours, etc.,
ROGER GARLAND, Chairman, Keep Ireland Open, Butterfield Drive, Dublin 14.