Regulated access is the way ahead

IN the course of your long editorial (July 7), you raise a number of important points relating to land access for recreational use.

However, you missed a number of key issues which need to be addressed in order to resolve this whole matter. Unfortunately, you dwelt on issues which are irrelevant to access, such as decoupled payments.

The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) made detailed proposals on what is now referred to as the ‘bare licence’ approach.

In essence this would give access to land in a controlled and regulated fashion without diluting in any way the property rights of farmers and landowners generally.

Legislation would be required for the bare licence approach which would provide for permission to access but also for the right of any farmer to withdraw the permission at any time into the future.

ICMSA is convinced this is a workable compromise between important property rights and permission to access land for recreational use. The Government should seize this opportunity and legislate accordingly. This would provide the legal framework and certainty for individual farmers and groups of farmers to enter into local commercial arrangements with private or public bodies to provide access facilities. Unfortunately, the generosity of our offer has been ignored in this most recent report.

Instead the people looking for access to private property have now shifted their emphasis from seeking permission to demanding rights to access. Equally, the report from the expert legal group set up by Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Eamon Ó Cuiv, has diverted itself down the pathway of rights.

As everybody knows, property rights are limited or finite — what one gains another must lose. There is no justification for transferring property rights from farmers to recreational users. ICMSA will continue to advocate the bare licence approach to Mr Ó Cuiv.

Ciarán Dolan

General Secretary

ICMSA

John Feely House

Dublin Road

Limerick