John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

The Deputy may be aware that his party colleague Deputy Connaughton organised a meeting with me and many of the families involved in the west. I am aware of the sensitives around this issue and I have spoken to those involved. It is an issue that goes back to 1999. I have done everything I can to ensure a fair resolution. The transition phase approach is probably the best.

We need to be careful with this issue. It was exploited irresponsibly at the time of the Lisbon treaty debate. There was a misperception that we were stopping turf cutting on all bogs, including blanket bogs, which was never the case. It is a small number of bogs that are in question. The Deputy pointed out the small percentage in private ownership.

We are trying to resolve this issue in a way that facilitates the tradition of turf cutting but, at the same time, ensures we meet our EU obligations. If we ignore those obligations, we will face substantial fines. That is not the motivating factor behind resolving this matter but we need to be mindful of it.

Ireland has the best raised bog habitats in Europe. I will facilitate any requests the Deputy has on this issue. If he wants to meet with me or have me meet a delegation I would be happy to do so.

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