Ireland’s Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today announced funding of more than €209,000 to upgrade and enhance 23 walking trails across the country.
The funding, under the Walks Scheme, will improve trail surfaces and deliver additional seating and signage.
Some trails and walks will also be ‘re-routed’ to improve their safety and to protect the rural countryside.
The initiative is designed to boost outdoor recreation and adventure tourism and to enhance some of the country’s most popular outdoor trails. Under the Walks Scheme, funding is provided to farmers and other landholders to maintain the trails that travel through their land. Funding is also provided to local development companies for the management of the scheme and the upkeep of the trails.
Among the successful projects being announced today include:
- Co. Offaly: Offaly Way – Maintenance and repair of two pedestrian bridges – €10,000
- Co. Kerry: Glanageenty Loops – Provision of Safety Fencing to protect the trail – €10,000
- Co. Roscommon: Lung Lough Gara Way – Installation of boardwalk across a bog section to improve walking experience – €10,000
- Co. Mayo: Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail – Reroute at Knockraha with relocation of an existing walkway bridge and drainage installed – €10,000
- Co. Waterford: St. Declan’s Way – Resurfacing of trail and installation of drainage at Cush of Grange – €10,000
- Co. Cork: Slí Gaeltacht Mhuscraí – Works include cutting back growth from path edges, installation of fencing, pedestrian gates and resurfacing of a short re-route of the trail – €10,000
Announcing the funding today, Minister Humphreys said: “Our walkways and outdoor trails really showcase the unique beauty of our rural towns and villages. They are hugely popular assets among families, hikers, cyclists and tourists alike and it’s therefore so important that we continuously maintain and protect them.”
Humphreys added that the projects will utilise local contractors and workers to support the rural economy.
She concluded: “Outdoor recreation tourism is a growing sector internationally, and has the potential to have major economic spin-off benefits for our rural towns and villages.”
The projects being funded are led by local development companies in collaboration with landowners, Community Trail Management Organisations and other stakeholders.
Under the Walks Scheme, funding is provided to farmers and other landholders to maintain the trails that travel through their land. Funding is also provided to local development companies for the management of the scheme and the upkeep of the trails.
The Walks Scheme Development Fund supports projects that require more extensive work, which would be additional to ongoing maintenance. Over the past two years, the Department has provided funding of more than €400,000 for 48 projects under the fund.
Along with the recent announcement of a major expansion of the Walks Scheme, this funding will support the growth of outdoor recreation across rural Ireland and will provide recreation opportunities which are key commitments of the new ‘Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors’, National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023 to 2027.
The Walks Scheme
The Walks Scheme facilitates 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.
There is currently approval in principle for 80 trails to be included on the Walks Scheme. To date, 64 trails have been brought onto the Scheme with work under way to bring the remaining trails onto the Scheme as soon as possible.
In February, Humphreys announced a further expansion of the Scheme by opening a call for expressions of interest for new trails. This major initiative will support the growth of outdoor recreation across rural Ireland by increasing the number of trails on the Scheme from 80 to 150 trails over the next two years. This is in line with the recently published Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors – the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027, which committed to further expanding the Walks Scheme to 150 trails by end of 2024.
Walk Scheme Expansion Expressions of Interest
The Department has opened a call for 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) are advised to make contact with the relevant LDCs in respect of trails that are eligible for inclusion in the scheme. The closing date for EOIs is June 23, 2023.
There is a maximum of €10,000 funding per project.
