DAVID HERMAN,
Sir, - I was bemused by the letter (July 31st) from Joss Lynam of the National Waymarked Ways Committee on the issue of access to the countryside. Mr Lynam shows a remarkably complacent attitude to a serious problem that has ramifications for walkers and our tourist industry.
His attitude to rights of way is that since we have virtually no rights of way, we therefore cannot learn from a country that has 200,000 kilometres of them. One would have hoped that he would be calling for a prompt start to the creation of rights of way here. After all, they are vital to people who want short day walks, rather than the marathons offered by the long-distance paths. They could also provide a legal route to mountain land.
Mr Lynam is similarly dismissive of the British right-to-roam legislation on the flimsy ground that there are bureaucratic problems with its implementation. Maybe so, but this hasn't stopped vast areas being opened to the public.
I have before me a map of the Peak District with the words "Access Land" printed across nearly all the uplands. This is an area surrounded by huge conurbations, yet large numbers are allowed to wander at will.
In stark contrast, in the West of Ireland, an area that attracts a comparatively tiny number of walkers, one hesitates to step off a public road for fear of hostile encounters with farmers, who have all the legal - and occasionally even physical - weapons on their side.
Lastly, Mr Lynam lauds the co-operation of farmers who have allegedly allowed walkers to use the long-distance paths, "mostly with no direct gain to themselves". Mr Lynam knows that farmers have blocked off these routes in the south-west because they are no longer being paid to allow walkers to use them.
This is an irresponsible attitude will certainly have long-term effects on tourism. - Yours, etc.,
DAVID HERMAN,
Meadow Grove,
Dublin 16.