Madam, - John G. O'Dwyer rather misses the point - or several of them - in his article on the decline of walking tourism in Ireland (Opinion & Analysis, December 19th). What is needed is not a simply a "coming round" of local communities, but a sea-change in attitudes.
He omits to mention that North Wales, which he cites as an example, is almost entirely covered by the Snowdonia National Park. With that comes strict control of developments and the preservation of landscapes. By contrast the West of Ireland features some of the worst examples of "bungalow blight" - and any attempt to reduce this would, of course, lead to wails of indignation about an Irishman's "rights". Who wants to walk to see bungalows?
North Wales is accessible by a dual carriageway from northern England and by railway. Within the national park there is a network of bus routes and railways to serve the walker. Some of these are tourist attractions in their own right. In much of the West of Ireland public transport is either non-existent or badly publicised and getting there from the urbanised east is a nightmare. Even in the east it is virtually impossible to reach the Wicklow mountains by public transport. Switzerland might set an impossible ideal in transport, but surely Ireland can do better?
When walkers do come here, how do they find his way around? The quality of Ordnance Survey maps, both north and south of the Border, is lamentable and falls well behind the standards set elsewhere in Europe. Look at the range of maps produced by its British equivalent or the IGN in France. The Irish 1:50,000 maps are smaller and more fragile and contain a fraction of the information on the British or French equivalents. They are particularly lacking in information on what are private and public rights of way.
In much of Britain and France the 1:50,000 maps have been largely superseded by excellent 1:25,000 maps in most of the popular walking areas. These offer a quantum leap in the level of information provided. Will someone give the IOS a prod up the rear?
There are other issues that need addressing - the variable quality of accommodation and eating and the malign influence of the IFA on public access issues are just two. All these need action at national rather than local level. Of this I see no sign. - Yours, etc,
JOHN NORBURY, Monread, Co Kildare.