Mr. Pat Ring:

There was a question from Deputies Ó Cuív and Barry on the value of future cutaway peatlands. Our overall strategy is to seek to generate commercial, environmental and social value. There is a clear focus on that in the sense that we are not just focused on amenity value and biodiversity. We fully accept and understand that commercial value must also be created. In our view, that would be driven by Bord na Móna and the value would accrue to the company. However, we understand that value should also accrue to the State in the context of the national interest, and we would see that the cutaway peatlands would have a value in terms of providing biodiversity and carbon storage while also providing solutions in the context of green energy and possibly water storage. The focus of Bord na Móna and this unit within the organisation is to look into the future at the emerging lands that will become available post peat production and to seek to generate value from them, whether commercial, environmental or social. We feel that getting the balance right is very important.