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Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, has today (Friday, 24 February) announced funding of €2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails across the country.
The major expansion of the department’s Walks Scheme will see the number of outdoor trails increase from 80 to 150 over the next two years.
The initiative is designed to boost outdoor recreation and rural tourism and will see the Scheme work with over 2,500 farmers to open up the countryside to walkers, hikers cyclists and tourists.
Under the Walks Scheme, funding is provided to farmers and other landowners to maintain the trails that travel through their holdings.
At present, 2,200 farmers or landowners are participating – with Minister Humphreys today opening up a new call for expressions of interest.
The major expansion of the Scheme is a key commitment of the new National Outdoor Recreation Strategy, ‘Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors’.
Making the announcement on the Lung Lough Gara Way in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, Minister Humphreys stated:
“Our walkways and outdoor trails showcase the unique beauty of our rural towns and villages. They attract millions of visitors every single year and provide people of all ages with the opportunity to get out for some exercise and fresh air. So today, I’m delighted to announce a major expansion of my department’s ‘Walks Scheme’ – which we expect will see an additional 70 trails brought on board. This is all about partnering with farmers and landowners to open up the countrywide – benefitting our walkers, hikers, cyclists and tourists alike. There are already 2,200 farmers and landowners involved in the scheme and I want to thank them for facilitating access to these fantastic trails. The scheme’s expansion, underpinned by an investment of €2.4 million, will see the number of trails increase to 150 over the next two years.”
The Minister concluded:
“Today, I am formally launching a call for expressions of interest as part of this initiative. I want this expansion to focus on counties which have few or no trails approved under the Walks Scheme. We need to balance development and ensure that all counties have high quality trails for tourists and local communities alike. I am also committed to reviewing the number of Rural Recreation Officers currently funded by my department to deliver the Walks Scheme, particularly where a county is approved a trail under the Scheme and where there is currently no Rural Recreation Officer in place. I would therefore encourage potential applicants such as trail management committees, community groups or other similar entities to contact their nearest Local Development Company to make an expression of interest for inclusion in the scheme.”
Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for rural Ireland for the period 2021-2025. It represents a new milestone in the approach to rural development policy for Ireland and adopts a more strategic, ambitious and holistic approach to investing in and maximising opportunities for rural areas.
The Walks Scheme was launched in 2008 to facilitate the development and maintenance of key walking trails by private landholders. The scheme is administered by 20 Local Development Companies (LDCs) who deliver the scheme in their area on behalf of the department.
The department funds 21 Rural Recreation Officers (RROs) in these LDCs, with a contribution from Fáilte Ireland, to assist with the delivery of the Scheme and support other rural recreation initiatives at a local level.
Under the Programme for Government and Our Rural Future, the department committed to doubling the number of trails under the Scheme to 80. Expressions of Interest were sought for trails to come onto the Scheme and 10 new trails were announced in 2019. A further 31 new trails were announced in 2021. 60 of these trails have now been brought on to the Scheme with LDCs working with landowners to develop workplans on the remaining trails.
Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors was launched in November 2022. In light of the significant contribution of the Walks Scheme in delivering high quality trails it committed to further expanding the Walks Scheme to 150 trails by end of 2024.
The department is now inviting expressions of interest from LDCs for new trails and substantial extensions to existing trails. Potential applicants (e.g. trail management committees, community groups, local authorities, and other similar entities) should be advised that expressions of interest must be made through LDCs in respect of trails that are eligible for inclusion in the scheme. The closing date for EOIs is 20th October 2023.
It is essential that any expression of interest is developed based on direct engagement with the relevant Trail Management Organisation and landholders.