Access to farmland for walking in the Republic of Ireland – The attitude of landowners

This paper explores the attitudes of landowners across Ireland to the wider provision of public access for recreational walking using a multinomial logit model. The study investigates the level of compensation required to improve the supply of this public good. Results indicate that 51% of landowners are not willing to provide access (non providers), 21% are willing to provide access free of charge (free providers) and 28% sought compensation (willing providers). Our findings indicate that participation by landowners in a proposed public access scheme is influenced by landowners’ experience with walkers, farm type, farm insurance costs, household demographics, regional variations and participation in other agri-environment schemes. Median willingness to accept for the cohort of landowners seeking compensation was found to be €0.46 per metre of walkway.