Mr. Brian Rushe:

I want to come in on a number of points which were raised earlier by the Deputies. In reference to the IFA's engagement, as the president said, I travelled to west Offaly last summer to meet farmers on the ground. I live in north-west Kildare on the Offaly border and I am sandwiched between two bogs that have been marked for rewetting. I have land that could be damaged by this so I understand the issue and farmers' concerns. We had an online meeting a few weeks ago with 200 farmers and landowners, and we put together 50 questions, which we have since put to Bord na Móna. We are expecting an answer to those questions at the end of this month. I agree with the point that the pumps need to continue to run. This issue formed part of our questions as well as issues regarding maintenance of outflows and of drains going through Bord na Móna land that neighbouring land is reliant on for drainage. It is critical that this remains in place.

I want to emphasise another point on the issue of ownership. On the rewetting project, Bord na Móna will store and sequester thousands of tonnes of carbon. That carbon will have a value and will continue to have a value in the future. There is a concern that if this becomes a massive carbon sink then that carbon could be traded. It is our view, and the view of farmers, that if there is value stored in the carbon on Bord na Móna land and surrounding land, it must benefit the local communities in which it is situated. That is an absolute red line issue. No one objects to the project Bord na Móna is working on but we are concerned as to the speed and pace it expects to complete it by, and its level of engagement. If there is value in the carbon sequestered in bogs in the future, it has to benefit the local community.

There is a concern that if Bord na Móna leaves these bogs in the future, they could come under the remit of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, and this could result in designations. All of us on this committee know what has happened to farmers' land that has been designated. There is a severe economic impact on their land. We do not want this issue to become a back door to land designations. We have been clear on this point. Another of the key points, which we were very clear about to Bord na Móna, is that it is its responsibility to communicate this project to the local communities. We have pushed them hard on that. We had a number of locally elected officials at our online meeting and they made this point as well. We will continue to make this point to Bord na Móna. When members speak to the company's representatives, one of the key issues they need to be pushed on is that they must engage fully and completely with local communities.

In response to Senator Daly's question about the answers we have received so far, we have submitted questions and we expect to have another meeting of our working group between the end of this month and the beginning of the next. We expect to receive those answers at that time. As the president stated, we met with Bord na Móna officials in person before Christmas and that was a good initial meeting where we got to raise our concerns. Obviously, the stakes are higher now and we will push them for more answers.

We are very careful on the issue of compensation. As was mentioned earlier, we need to make sure Bord na Móna remains in these areas to maintain and look after drains. There is a worry that if farmers look for compensation at this stage, this would provide Bord na Móna with the opportunity to exit the affected areas. Speaking honestly, when the issue of compensation comes up during the online meetings, it is not entertained. The ideal scenario is that Bord na Móna remains in the communities and that liaison officers are there to maintain and make sure outflows continue.