Ms Marian O'Driscoll:

Thirty hectares is the requirement for a mandatory EIA, but I believe it is ten hectares for a planning application. If someone was carrying out turf cutting on 20 hectares, they would have to apply for planning permission and it would then be a matter for the planning authority to decide whether an EIA was needed. It would decide in accordance with annex 3 of the directive - the impact it is having on the environment. That could be an area on which we could issue further guidance. Generally, it is accepted that most of the bogs in the Natura sites here are protected. In terms of other bogs there should not be a major impact on the environment given that the ones considered of value are protected under the habitats directive.