Madam, - Malcolm Thompson of the farming organisation ICSA accuses us of "begrudgery" because we oppose grants to farmers to allow access to the countryside (The Irish Times, April 3rd).
We - and here we are at one with the relevant Minister - plead guilty as charged. Unlike the ICSA and the other major farming organisations we have some regard for the public purse. For instance, we estimate that the latest IFA proposal to facilitate walkways, if it led to a reasonable network, would cost the taxpayer €630 million plus €1,000 for every landowner involved, all per annum! And that's before we start talking about the freedom to roam over rough grazing land.
Mr Thompson chooses to forget that most Irish farmers' income now comes from the taxpayers of Europe (and increasingly Ireland). He might also consider the situation in most parts of Europe, where recreational users are welcome to walk suitable land, at no cost to themselves or their government. He might therefore ponder an idea that has obviously never occurred to him: giving a little in return, preferably before the Irish public become completely disenchanted with farmers' constant demands for money. - Yours, etc.,
ROGER GARLAND, Chairman, Keep Ireland Open, Dublin 14.