Hill Damage by Bikes and What To Do About It

Ena Rafferty, current Chairwoman of the Wayfarers Association, a Dublin based
hillwalking club, asks:

Why has there to be terrible damage done to sites of great importance in
Ireland before anything is done to protect them?

Now that we have the Green Party in Government, it will be interesting to seeQuad damage between Slievemaan and Lugnaquillia
what happens. For this article I will concentrate on the Wicklow Dublin
Mountains area. Those of us who go hillwalking regularly in these areas will see
the damage done by off road vehicles.

In April of this year while members of our club, the Wayfarers, were out hiking
in the area of Lugnaquillia and Slievemaan, we witnessed about ten scrambler
bikes and quads riding between Lug and Slievemaan. The damage was visible long
before we got down to where they had been. This damage has been done over a long
period of time and in a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), making the damage a
criminal offence. The damage is also taking place within the state-owned Wicklow
Mountain National Park area (the park lands are part of the wider SAC area.)
Damage of this kind can be seen all over the Wicklow Dublin Mountains. We took
photographs on the day and they were passed on to the Green Party, The Wicklow
Upland Council and Shay Walsh of Leave no Trace. The Green Party is the only one
which did not contact me.

It must be noted that these areas are full of history. Cairns, ring forts,
ancient settlements, standing stones, holy wells and megalithic tombs, all of
which are of great interest, and importance to us as a people, not to mention
their tourist value. But none of these seem to matter. We are latterly riding
rough shod over them. Why?

Then there is the question of the damage being done to nature. The conservation
of all areas with a nature protection designation, whether private or public
land, is the responsibility of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Damage to the side of LugnaquilliaOf
course there are not sufficient resources being invested to protect these areas.
Why?

It should not be up to me to point out the tourism and recreational resources of
this area, for Dublin's ever increasing population. We have people employed to
do so, (I think?).

There is the wider impact on the locals who live in these areas, and they at all
times must be taken into consideration and consulted, if and when anything is
ever done?

There is a need for designated areas where owners of scramblers and quads can go
to use their vehicles. There is a need for more than one, which I believe will
be developed in the Dublin Mountains over the next year. Wicklow County Council
introduced bye-laws in 2007 to protect Ballyremon Commons in the north east of
Wicklow from the unauthorised use of motorised vehicles, so it can be done.

• There are many questions that need to be answered of these off-road
  users;
• are these vehicles taxed and insured to travel on the roads?
• are the drivers licensed?
• if a walker is knocked down and injured while in the hills what then?
• at what age should a driver be, to be allowed drive these vehicles?

and I am sure there are more questions. Which leads me to believe that there
should be more than one Government Department involved.

I would encourage people to write to the Department of the Environment and John
Gormley. I feel if He gets enough letters he just might do something before it
is to late. Please do not sit on the fence - write, it could make all the
difference. Also take photos especially with digital cameras, as they can be
emailed to the Minister, and used as evidence.

Ena Rafferty (Chairwoman, Wayfarers Association, July 2008)