Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Wilson for his submission. I come from an area where the National Parks and Wildlife Service rewetted a bog. What is the tonnage of carbon sequestered on 1 ha of rewetted bog. Studies conducted by the service show that the active raised bog habitat of this bog grew by 45%, even though turf was cut on the edge of the bog. I want to hear the tonnage so that people will understand the value of the carbon they are sequestering, for which they probably get nothing.

I ask Dr. Wilson to elaborate on his comment that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in December 2020 earmarked 30,000 ha of grassland for rewetting. Let us say that in Listowel there are dairy cows on grass that has been grown on a reclaimed bog. Is Dr. Wilson saying that grass is not sequestering carbon? Is he saying the Department is targeting 30,000 ha of that type of land for rewetting? Perhaps I have misunderstood.

I have worked with Dr. Ray Flynn, with whom I am sure Dr. Wilson is familiar, and Francis Mackin and others in RPS. Works are being done on degraded raised bog around the country under the habitats directive. Dr. Flynn and RPS stated that we had to look at the regeneration of bogs over a 30-year period. Is that what Dr. Wilson is looking at in the Bord na Móna set-up? I think regeneration of Bord na Móna bogs will take longer because the company took the top off the bogs.

I welcome Dr. Wilson's statement, going by the figures he gave, that domestic turf cutters with nominally 400 ha are inconsequential in the whole scenario.