Mr. Brian Lucas:

As I said, under the planning development regulations, peat extraction in a new or extended area of 10 ha or more where the drainage of the bogland commenced prior to 21 January 2002 is exempted development. The best thing to do is to give a practical example. If I wish to engage in peat extraction and if I have a site which I think fits into the exempted development category, for example, an area of 10 ha or more where the drainage of the bogland commenced prior to January 2002, then I would first conduct an environmental impact assessment screening and an appropriate assessment screening. If the results of those screenings show that an EIA and AA are not necessary, then I would go to the planning authority and seek what I referred to earlier, namely, a section 5 declaration. My recollection of the Planning and Development Act 2000 is that the planning authority must respond to such an application within four weeks. It is open to anyone to pursue that process. However, it would be necessary to at least do an EIA screening and an AA screening and then provide the outcome of those to the planning authority as part of the application for a section 5 declaration.

During my time working in the area of peatlands, although it was for domestic turf cutting, as I mentioned, the planning regime and the law is the same no matter what type of extraction is involved. The Department sought section 5 declarations from planning authorities for peat extractions in the circumstances which I set out and received such section 5 declarations. In addition, for two sites where we felt there was a need for a full EIA, we applied for and received planning permission to develop those two sites for domestic peat extraction. To complete the picture, we applied for planning permission for one more site and we were refused. We appealed that decision to An Bord Pleanála, but it also ruled against us. Therefore, that there is still a requirement to go through a process of seeking consent and a section 5 declaration. It is then a matter for the planning authority to decide whether to grant that declaration.