Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 May 2024
173. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to concerns of local authorities regarding the establishment of rights of way in county development plans (details supplied); if his Department has considered establishing a judicial-led arbitration process to resolve complex disputes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19702/24]
View answerThe Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act) provides that it is a matter for the relevant planning authority to consider where there is a need for a public right of way. The Act places responsibility for the maintenance of public rights of way directly with local authorities, by requiring them to preserve existing public rights of way through mapping and listing them as part of their development plans.Section 10(2)(o) of the Act requires that all development plans include objectives for “the preservation of public rights of way which give access to seashore, mountain, lakeshore, riverbank or other places of natural beauty or recreational utility, which public rights of way shall be identified both by marking them on at least one of the maps forming part of the development plan and by indicating their location on a list appended to the development plan.”
The inclusion of rights of way in the preparation of Development Plans is a function of the elected members in accordance with section 14 of the Act.
The "permissive access mechanism" described in Circular Letter PL 5/2015 can complement the statutory development plan objective and can deliver an integrated approach to combining agreed ways and trails with public rights of way statutorily defined in the plan.
The overall combined approach, providing an inventory of permissive access routes in addition to rights of way, represents a best practice approach.The establishment of a judicial-led arbitration process to resolve complex disputes is one which I as the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage have no function. This would be a matter for the consideration of my colleague the Minister for Justice, as provided under the Arbitration Act 2010 and Mediation Act 2017.
