I thank Deputy Nolan for raising this issue and for the constructive way in which she has gone about it. It is a serious issue. I represent and have lived in County Wicklow all my life. I remember vividly the incident in 2023 when a farmer, Pat Dunne, was beaten up on his own land. I remember meeting with the IFA at Wicklow level and national level. This is a real issue that farmers are grappling with on a constant basis. Yes, there is a balance of rights - of course there is - and we always have to get that right. We all get that and farmers get that too. As a country and as a Government, through our local authorities and our State agencies we are investing an awful lot, quite rightly, in authorised walkways, whether they are greenways, blueways or cycleways. There has been huge investment and there needs to be more to make sure people can enjoy our countryside. It might be that this lessens even further the excuse for people to trespass, in any shape or form, on a farmers' land. We must work co-operatively, as we do, in partnership with farmers. The experience right around the country is that this works quite well. As a country, we need to take a tougher approach on trespassing. As the Deputy said, we are not talking about somebody who accidentally does this. We are talking about the examples we have seen in parts of the country where the actions of people, on quads or anything else, are causing concern, fear and, on occasion, intimidation for people in rural Ireland, farmers and their families. For the record, we have legislation already in place relating to trespassing. I share these details with the House to be useful. The Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994, as amended, has specific provisions regarding unauthorised entry onto or occupation of land. Part IIA of that Act - sections 19A to 19H, as inserted in 2002 - provides for offences in relation to illegal trespass and occupation of land, including public land provided or maintained by a statutory body or held in trust for the enjoyment of the public, and land covered by water. In that legislation, gardaí are given powers to direct trespassers to leave and to remove objects. It sets out offences, and penalties including fines on conviction of up to €4,000 or terms of imprisonment, or both. The Department of justice, the Minister for justice and the Government are keeping this matter under review. It would be useful - I am trying to think of the best mechanism to bring it forward - to find a way to tease these issues through. Perhaps the Oireachtas justice committee could be a vehicle for this. I will certainly speak to the Minister for justice on that. In principle, I acknowledge that this is an issue that is causing a challenge. It was never right and is even less so when we are making such a conscious effort as a country to provide more opportunities for people to safely and legally enjoy the beautiful outdoors in Ireland. We need to listen carefully to the concerns of our rural community who feel their rights in terms of their own land are not being fully respected.

Sentiment score: 0.14

There is an issue here, and potentially a legislative one. That is why we should keep the laws under review. We will engage constructively on the Deputy's Bill, and on any views from the Minister for justice, the Garda and others around the law. There is also an issue of enforcement because we are seeing - I am certainly hearing it more and more - attacks on sheep and the likes. There is a sense that sometimes this is being done to intimidate people to access their land. We all live in the same country and we try to share this land. We all try to get on with our business in a respectful way. We want people to be able to go out and enjoy the countryside, to walk and to cycle. We want kids to enjoy the fresh air and explore the beauties of our country in all weather. We need to provide more safe and secure ways to do that by putting in proper walkways and proper routes in partnership with farmers and working with local authorities. Alongside that, we need to take a tougher approach when people do not respect the laws and trespass in a way that causes significant distress. I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, to revert to the Deputy directly.

Sentiment score: 0.25