Mr. Seamus Boland:

I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice. I appreciate that we go back. I am sure he knows his bogs better than I ever will, but I know them. I am familiar with the issues he raised. These are solutions and perhaps a combination of them will work. The reason we could not put forward the recommendation the Deputy mentioned relates to discussions we had with scientists and especially hydrologists. I remind the Deputy that the Harte Peat decision needs to be looked at and clarified. It may even need to be tested but at the moment it is there. We were told that a buffer zone can be put in place, as the Deputy suggests - I am not dismissing this as a possibility - but we were told in no uncertain terms that to stand over a recommendation like that, we would have to be absolutely certain that the underground water systems that could be affected in such a plot will not be disturbed or affected. As one scientist pointed out, the water schemes in an area could be dried up if you were not careful. No one presented a proposal - and we looked for it - on how that buffer zone could be managed to guarantee that the water systems that could be affected would not be damaged and would not destroy water in the area. That was the main reason that Irish Rural Link, and I personally, could not stand over that. I was not convinced that a buffer zone would work.