The Republic's international tourist reputation is being damaged by the refusal of some farmers to allow walkers on to their lands, the Green Party has warned.
Next week Green Party TD Mr Paul Gogarty will make an attempt in the Dáil to force local authorities to protect all existing rights of way. Under the 2000 Planning and Development Act, local authorities have the option of preserving rights of way, but they are not required to do so.
The number of such rights is unknown since they have never been officially listed, although significant numbers have been closed off by landowners and builders.
Urging dialogue rather than conflict, the Green Party leader, Mr Trevor Sargent, said farmers should receive State grants for maintaining walkers' routes.
Mr Gogarty said: "Little can be done to improve the attractiveness of Ireland as a walking holiday destination while the access issue is unresolved."
An estimated 300,000 tourists go on walking holidays in the Republic, though, increasingly, some of these people were being abused by "a minority" of farmers.
However, walking holidays could be a major boon for farmers. "Wales gets two million walkers. Yet Ireland is arguably a superior destination," he said.
Walking holidays in Ireland last year generated €144 million: "This is more than golf, angling, cycling," said Mr Gogarty.
But walking tourism revenues were falling: "Because of the bad publicity about access, the number of walking visitors has declined from 322,000 in 1992 to 241,000 in 2001. Rather than nurturing and growing the sector, we are left with seriously declining figures which are damaging our own tourism industry," the Dublin West TD said.
Rights of way were listed and protected in the UK in 1949 and today it had 220,000 kilometres of walks and bridle paths, said Mr Michael Carroll of Keep Ireland Open (KIO).
The protected routes selected by a specially-appointed officer in each local authority area were then listed in Ordnance Survey maps and British road traffic legislation.
The use of such routes by walkers and horse riders generated "€6 billion for the local economies in rural areas and protects 250,000 jobs", said Mr Gogarty.
KIO has campaigned since 1994 for more rights for walkers following a dispute in Glenmadoo, Mulrany, Co Mayo, when access to a beach was blocked off.
Changes to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from January 1st will make walking tourism more attractive to farmers. Green Party deputy leader Cllr Mary White said the CAP "was the key to all of this".
