Mr. Dan Curley:

I thank the Chairman and the members of the committee for inviting us. We made a lengthy submission to the committee. Our concern is that the bogs need to go back to the way that they were or as close to the way they were as possible. We had a meeting with Bord na Móna about three weeks ago. We do not envisage it happening with the plans it has. It is focusing on rewetting, which basically will not cut the mustard with this because these bogs have no seed base and they need to be replanted. We sent the committee a report by someone in the UK who did some of this kind of work.

We believe the bogs need to be gradually re-wetted. In tandem with that they must be recolonised with the right bog plants. By the right bog plants, I mean the small bog plants, heather, grasses, lichens and sphagnum moss. We do not want them to turn into birch plantations or lakes. To store and take in carbon needs plants on the bog. That is where we are coming from. We are concerned about what is going on because a bog needs to have very little variation in its water level throughout the year. With rewetting unfortunately, the level could go down to about 3 ft or 4 ft, which will not cut the mustard for plants because those plants need to be in water for the whole year.

We envisage a lot of problems. There was a lack of engagement on this, as we also pointed out in our submission. We hope that will change and they will look at it all. Simply going in and rewetting bogs will not work and could cause serious problems, as outlined by the farming people. I will not take up any more of the committee's time because I am sure other people want to come in. That is where we are coming from.

The proper plants need to get back on the bogs for the purposes of carbon and for pollination. Heather is the best pollinator plant in the country. A third reason is that the preferred habitat for many of the vulnerable species, such as the curlew, the red grouse and practically all the ground nesting birds, is open moor and bog. Unfortunately, not much of that is left. Many birch plantations are left but not good open moorland and it needs to go back to that as much as possible. We appreciate that it might not be possible to do that in every bog but the aim should be at least to try to go back to that.