Hill walkers fear their hobby is under threat after a court case ruling awarding major damages to a woman who fell on a trek in Wicklow.
Teresa Wall of Rathingle Cottages in Swords County Dublin, received €40,000 after she sued the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Mrs Wall says she injured herself on a rotting boardwalk on the Wicklow Way which was left in a “disgraceful state”.
Helen Lawless, the hill walking access and conservation officer with Mountaineering Ireland, claims it was unrealistic to expect the boardwalk in Wicklow to be maintained any better.
“We’re talking about a structure that’s in a mountain environment about a height of over 550 metres and that we shouldn’t have the same expectation of structures in that setting that we must have of a path at a low level.
“It goes back to that fundamental principal for people who are engaged in outdoor pursuits, that we need to be mindful of our own safety.”