616. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the progress made to date in implementing Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors: National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023–2027; the actions undertaken to support the development of outdoor recreation infrastructure, trails and amenities nationwide; the funding allocated to support delivery of the strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54556/26]

Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023 – 2027 was published in November 2022. This Strategy was developed in collaboration with Comhairle na Tuaithe and is a cross-Government, stakeholder-led strategy. The Strategy contains 95 agreed actions for implementation across a wide range of Government departments and agencies, to be delivered over the 5-year life span of the strategy. The implementation of the strategy is being jointly led by my department and Sport Ireland.

Progress in delivering the strategy is being monitored through a strategy oversight group and quarterly meetings of Comhairle na Tuaithe. The 1st and 2nd progress reports on the implementation of the strategy are available on my department’s website. The 3rd progress report which will cover the period of July 2025 to June 2026 will be published in the coming months.

As part of the strategy, new county structures that are being put in place to support outdoor recreation throughout each county. This includes the establishment of new County Outdoor Recreation Committees, Stakeholder Forums and the development of an Outdoor Recreation Plan in each county. These plans will guide the development of outdoor recreation over the next 5 years. My department is providing funding to support the development of these plans and, so far, 24 counties have commenced work on their plans. As part of the new county structure, County Outdoor Recreation Committees are also being established to deliver these plans.

Funding has also been provided for 6 County Outdoor Recreation Officer positions on a pilot basis for 3 years to co-ordinate the development and delivery of the county outdoor recreation plans in the selected counties. The pilot is currently being evaluated to consider if these positions should be rolled out further.

The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS), which is funded by my department, continues to be an important contributor to Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors. The scheme provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as walking trails, cycleways, blue ways, mountain access routes and open water facilities at rivers, lakes and beaches. Since the scheme was established, funding of almost €154 million has supported 2,060 outdoor amenities across the country. The level of funding provided in the estimates process for ORIS has increased from €12 million in 2021 to €17 million this year.

There continues to be significant investment in outdoor recreation facilities and infrastructure through other sources, including in our greenway network and the National Transport Authority's Active Travel Programme. Other examples include the development of the midlands trail network that is being supported through €30m of funding by the EU Just Transition Fund, as well as 19 accessible water sports facilities that are being supported by Fáilte Ireland through an investment of over €19m.

Another key action in the strategy was the commitment to expand the number of trails on my department’s Walks Scheme to 150. This is in recognition of the value of outdoor recreation amenities, not just for individual and community wellbeing, but also for the tourism impact these trails have on a local economy.

164 trails have now been approved in principle to join the Scheme, which exceeds the commitment in the strategy. To date, 138 of these trails have been fully brought onto the Scheme with 2,873 participant landowners now signed up. Work is ongoing to bring on the rest of the trails as soon as possible.

Stakeholder engagement and collaboration is essential to the delivery of the strategy. To support this my department, on behalf of Comhairle na Tuaithe, welcomed over 220 delegates from national and county organisations involved in the outdoor recreation sector to the third National Outdoor Recreation Conference in Co. Cavan on 25 June 2026. The conference is integral to the delivery of the strategy by providing opportunities to share best practice and inform policy implementation and development.

This is only a snapshot of some of the progress on the strategy to date. Progress on each action in the strategy will be reported on in the 3rd progress report which will be published in the coming months. My department, in conjunction with Sport Ireland, continues to implement the remaining strategy actions to address the challenges and opportunities of this exciting and growing sector.

In addition, my department recently commissioned an independent midterm review of the strategy to assess the impact of it to date and to inform the design of the next iteration of Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors. The review will be completed by the end of the year.