The yearly cost of maintaining the Cliffs of Moher Walking Trail will be almost half a million euro, according to the soon to be released Tobin Report.
A leaked copy of the report, seen by The Clare Champion, suggests that Clare County Council should pay the largest section of this cost.
The report suggests that some €275,000 of this money should be funded through entrance fees to the council owned, Cliffs of Moher Experience.
The remaining €185,000 should be paid through a subvention from Fáilte Ireland or the Department of Rural and Community Development.
This annual maintenance figure of €460,000 is in addition to proposed payments to the 36 landowners who own the trail, who may either sell their land to Clare County Council or enter into a long term lease agreement.
The Tobin Report provides a breakdown of how this €460,000 would be spent annually with the largest portion, €200,000 allocated to a “framework contractor”.
A provision of €100,000 is also made to fund “stakeholder consultation” and a “landowner liaison” while there is also provision to contract a trail manager at a cost of €70,000.
Other costs mentioned in the report include €50,000 for “in-house” maintenance costs, and €20,000 each to fund birds surveys and geotechnical surveys.
While the amount that farmers can expect to receive either from the sale or lease of their land is not mentioned, the Tobin Report refers to the National Greenway Scheme as a guide for dealing with this issue.
The Irish Farmer’s Association (IFA), which represents many of the 36 landowners on the walking trail, has declined to comment on the report until after it hosts a landowners meeting in Liscannor next week. The Clare Champion understands that payments on a scale similar to the National Greenways Scheme will not be deemed suitable to the majority of local landowners.
The Tobin Report refers to a “perceived inequity” felt by local landowners who are aware of the large revenue generated by Clare County Council at the Cliffs of Moher Experience.
“At present there is a perceived inequity associated with the financial operation of the two constituent parts of the Cliffs of Moher ‘amenity’, the visitor’s centre, and the coastal walk,” the report states.
“Landowners are fully cognisant of the entry fees to the Cliffs of Moher Experience. They see Clare County Council collecting significant fees annually from the Cliffs of Moher Experience and, given that the coastal walk is an important part of the overall Cliffs of Moher amenity, they feel that they are not properly compensated for providing access to their lands for the enjoyment of visitors.
“To illustrate this point further, if you consider a scenario where the Cliffs of Moher Experience facility had not been developed and this was simply a beautiful coastal walk accessed at various points between Doolin and Liscannor, it is likely that there would not be the same expectation for compensation over and above what is due to landowners under the walks scheme.
“It is the income generated at the Cliffs of Moher Experience, and the continued operation of the walks scheme as the only means of landowner compensation that is leading to a perception of inequity.”
The report states that a new payment model to landowners should be “equitable and sustainable”.
“It is proposed that payments to landowners under the walks scheme cease and be replaced by a new model that is equitable and sustainable and reflects the importance of these lands in the context of the overall Cliffs of Moher amenity,” the report states.
“In order to set a suitable rate for landowner payments, it is prudent to examine other comparable landowner compensation schemes for amenity provision. The Code of Practice for National and Regional Greenways contains a number of important provisions in respect of landowner liaison, accommodation works, land acquisition, and landowner payments.
“Landowner payments would be contingent on a purchase of lands or agreeing a long-term lease, with an upfront sustainability lump sum payment for the lands and a nominal annual payment thereafter. The purchase amount and long-term lease amounts will be set by an agronomist appointed by Clare County Council.”
A decision made by Clare County Council, which saw landowners located closer to the Cliffs of Moher Experience receive more funding from the local authority, was described as the “correct approach” in the Tobin Report.
This decision is understood to have led to animosity amongst the local landowners with local landowner, Pat Sweeney, previously accusing Clare County Council of trying to “split” the local farmers. The approach taken to landowner compensation over the past number of years, whereby landowners closer to the visitor’s centre received a separate payment, as a temporary measure, to facilitate trail upgrades, was the correct approach as it reflected the higher level of visitor numbers on the central section,” the report states.
“Notwithstanding this, it has led to landowners remote from the central section feeling aggrieved as they have stated that all lands along the coastal walk carry the same level of importance in relation to the continued operation of the trail.”
Andrew Hamilton is a journalist, investigative reporter and podcaster who has been working in the media in Ireland for the past 20 years. His areas of special interest include the environment, mental health and politics.