Right across the world, mention of Ireland evokes images of lush, rolling countryside. For many Irish people the countryside is inherent to our sense of national identity. It's richness and diversity attracts tourists to our country and enhances the quality of life for both urban and rural dwellers.

Rural Ireland is currently undergoing massive changes – falling population, changes in land ownership and land use, marginalisation and economic difficulty. Perhaps most significantly, agriculture is no longer the main economic driver in the rural economy. The role of the countryside in the life of the Irish population is also changing. With increased leisure time, improved availability of transport and a need for many people to escape the stresses of modern living, the countryside is increasingly becoming a place of recreation. The benefits to recreational users are obvious - better physical and mental health, close contact with nature etc. Unfortunately recreational activity can, and has, resulted in inconvenience for rural dwellers, through congestion on country roads, invasion of privacy and damage to property. However recreational activity has the potential to also bring vibrancy and much-needed income to rural areas, as has been the experience in many other countries.

National Countryside
Recreation Strategy
With a view to maximising the benefit of recreational activity to rural communities and providing a framework for the development of this sector,

Mr Eamon Ó Cuív, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, established Comhairle na Tuaithe in January 2004. Comhairle na Tuaithe is addressing three priority issues: access to the countryside; the development of a countryside code and the development of a National Countryside Recreation Strategy.

Public consultation is underway on the preparation of the National Countryside Recreation Strategy, which will encompass land, air and water-based activities. Comhairle na Tuaithe has invited submissions from interested individuals and groups up to the end of November 2005.

The objective of the strategy will be to put in place an accepted and agreed vision for countryside recreation and a blueprint for action and implementation of that strategy into the future.

While a precise definition of what countryside recreation is will emerge as part of the development of the National Countryside Recreation Strategy, Comhairle na Tuaithe is using the following working definition to aid the consultation process:

Countryside recreation applies to those sporting and recreational pursuits based on use of the resources of the countryside and which contribute to healthy active lifestyles. The term countryside includes land, water and air. The term recreation in this context applies to sporting and recreational activities which operate in the countryside as defined above. It does not refer to sporting activities which take place in the countryside on confined courses or pitches specifically designed and constructed for those sports e.g. golf, football, show jumping etc.

Those drafting submissions have been asked to consider questions such as:

• What is your vision of Countryside Recreation over the next 10 year period?
  
• What obstacles do you see to achieving that vision and how can they be overcome?
  
• What part if any do you, or your organisation, feel you can play in surmounting these obstacles?
  
• Can you give examples of best practice in Ireland and/or elsewhere which could inform the recreational strategy?
  
• What structures are required to manage Countryside Recreation in Ireland?

Access to private land
All land in Ireland is owned, either by private individuals or state bodies. Even areas referred to as commonage are private land owned jointly by a number of people. Recreational users do not have a legal right of entry to land; access is at the discretion of the landowner. While the great majority of landowners continue to welcome walkers and other recreational users, in recent times there has been an increase in the closure of lands. The complex reasons underlying this change include fear of litigation, poor behaviour by some recreational users, a decline in the economic viability of smaller farms, and frustration that landowners are the one party not to gain any direct benefit from commercialised recreational use of their land.

While media focus on access to the countryside has centred on relations between hillwalkers and farmers, this issue extends to virtually every person living in Ireland. If you go strolling in the countryside, fishing, horse-riding, sailing, caving, orienteering, bird-watching or to visit a national monument, it is likely that you will need access to privately owned land. In the youth sector alone, the Scouts, Gaisce and numerous other youth organisations rely on the countryside as the medium for many of their activities. Recreation is a human need, and access is an essential element in most countryside recreation activities. At present the absence of clarity as to whether, and where, people may enter land creates difficulties for recreational users, particularly so for those from outside the local area.

It is vital that the National Countryside Recreation Strategy reflects the breadth of recreation activities taking place in the Irish countryside, that it balances the needs of users and rural communities and that it contains practical measures to resolve the access issue and ultimately ensure the sustainable growth of countryside recreation.

Countryside recreation and the quality of the environment
Most people would agree that future management of the Irish countryside should combine development with the conservation of its natural and cultural heritage. Ensuring that the future of countryside recreation is sustainable, requires, amongst other things, recognising the sensitivity of particular areas and features, and planning to ensure that developments do not adversely affect this. It’s likely that recreational type development can happen in most places, but there are areas where recreation could and has resulted in a deterioration in the quality of the countryside resource and the quality of the recreation experience. Resources must be made available to deal with damaged areas and to ensure that the potential for increasing countryside recreation in Ireland, and similarly increasing tourism activities related to recreation, is done with due regard to the landscape, the visitor experience and rural communities.

Potential of countryside recreation
A fresh study commissioned jointly this year by the Irish Sports Council and Coillte to look at the value of recreational trails and forest recreation estimates the direct expenditure by Irish trail users on items such as food, drink, accommodation and trail equipment at €307m annually, while the non-market value of trails was found to be €95m. The direct economic impact of forest recreation by Irish residents is estimated to be €268m, while the non-market value of forest recreation is estimated at €97m. The health benefits associated with walking are the primary motivation for about 30% of all trail users. Some 37% of interviewees stated that trail activities are the most important form of exercise they undertake, while for a further 32% trail usage is an important form of exercise.

‘Walking’ is a very important niche product for Irish tourism attracting more visitors than any other activity holiday. Fáilte Ireland estimates that in 2004, 259,000 visitors participated in hiking/hillwalking while on holiday here. Overseas walking visitors spent over €170m while in Ireland, providing valuable income to rural economies. Fáilte Ireland’s data also shows that cycling tourism is worth about €80m annually to the Irish economy.

The Coillte / Irish Sports Council study demonstrates that the economic benefits of trail and forest recreation by domestic visitors are much greater than those generated by overseas visitors, highlighting the need for government policy in this area to respond to domestic needs as well as tourism interests.

Clearly, it makes clear economic sense to invest in countryside recreation, but to ensure sustainability, proper structures are required. With a planned and cohesive approach to countryside recreation a greater gain will be achieved at lesser cost. Countries such as New Zealand, Finland, Slovenia and Austria have all benefited from the sustainable development of recreation and rural tourism. Closer to home there are excellent examples in Wales and Scotland, where the Countryside Council for Wales and Scottish Natural Heritage are the respective lead agencies for this sector.

Under the next National Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 a minimum of 10% of funding will go to non-agricultural initiatives. This wider community involvement is a significant change. The creation of employment and quality of life in rural areas are both priorities within the EU’s new rural development guidelines. The programme allows for measures to support culture and leisure services, thus providing a potential source of funding for initiatives based on countryside recreation.

Aside from economic and health benefits, countryside recreation can bring social benefits by improving mutual understanding between urban and rural dwellers. Furthermore, with so many new people living in rural areas, whose lives are not inter-connected, recreation activities have the potential to assist in building a sense of community.

By participating in the current public consultation we can all play a part in ensuring that countryside recreation reaches its full potential in terms of contribution to healthy lifestyles and a sustainable future for rural Ireland.

Full details of the public consultation on the National Countryside Recreation strategy are available on www.pobail.ie, by e-mail from This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or by contacting Úna Ní Fhaircheallaigh in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, tel: 01 647 3061.