Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Chairman's comments. Officials from the National Monuments Service met representatives from Westmeath County Council in August to discuss possibilities for the site. Further research is also ongoing in co-operation with the landowner. The status of the development of the bog remains before the courts. The National Monuments Service considers that the prospect of preservationin situ of ancient trackways or toghers that traverse an open working bog and have been dissected along their length by approximately 45 open drains is severely limited. These ancient features only come to light during peat extraction. Once a bog has been drained to facilitate such extraction, the conditions that ensure the preservation of the wooden toghers are no longer present, with the result that they will inevitably decay slowly over time. The Department will continue to focus its efforts on seeking detailed information on the toghers through appropriate methods of recording.