Mountaineering Ireland has worked with other members of Comhairle na Tuaithe, the national advisory body on outdoor recreation, to produce a new booklet on access to the outdoors in Ireland and relevant provisions in the Occupiers’ Liability Act. The booklet is aimed at landowners, and everyone who uses Ireland’s outdoors for recreation, education or related activities.
Titled Recreation in Ireland’s Outdoors, the booklet includes a summary of key court judgements, including the Wicklow Way case in 2017 and information on changes to the Occupiers’ Liability Act that came into effect in 2023.
The changes to the legislation include:
- Voluntary Assumption of Risk - the most important point for Mountaineering Ireland members and others engaged in outdoor recreation is that voluntary assumption of risk is now the law. This change embeds in legislation a long-established principle that participants in outdoor recreation activities take responsibility for their own safety. As Mountaineering Ireland’s participation statement* highlights we need to be aware of the risks in the activities we do and to take responsibility for our own actions.
- Structures - The 2023 revisions to the Occupiers’ Liability Act have also limited the duty of care an occupier owes in respect of structures for use primarily by recreational users, such as stiles, gates, footbridges or similar structures. There remains a duty to take reasonable care to maintain the structure in a safe condition, however this duty is heavily qualified, with a range of factors to be taken into account in court.
Overall, the changes to the Occupiers’ Liability Act rebalance the duty of care in favour of landowners and occupiers, giving greater protection to landowners. The booklet provides information that should be useful and reassuring to landowners.
The Recreation in Ireland’s Outdoors booklet is published by the Department of Rural & Community Development on behalf of Comhairle na Tuaithe. Mountaineering Ireland led the development of this booklet on behalf of the Comhairle, helping to deliver on an important action within Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027. We extend sincere thanks to barrister and Mountaineering Ireland member, Cormac O Dúlacháin for his voluntary input to the booklet.
Read the Recreation in Ireland’s Outdoors online at https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/DRCD_Recreation_in_Irelands_Outdoors_A5_2025_05.pdf The booklet will be officially launched at the National Outdoor Recreation Conference in Limerick on Thursday 26th June 2025.
For queries or to request a hard copy of the booklet email [email protected]
*Mountaineering Ireland recognises that hillwalking, climbing and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement.