Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)

When surveyed in 2005, six of Ireland's 55 raised bog special areas of conservation, SACs, were found to be in favourable conservation status. These were generally sites where significant restoration work had been undertaken and no significant turf extraction was taking place.

Most of Ireland's 55 raised bog SACs have not reached favourable conservation status. This is as a result of a number of pressures on these sites, including drainage and turf cutting. Turf cutting, and the drainage necessary for it to take place, detract from the conservation value of these sites in two ways. First, turf extraction directly removes the habitat for which these sites are protected; namely, degraded raised bog capable of restoration. Second, the drainage associated with turf cutting has a negative impact on active raised bog - that part of the bog where peat is still forming. Drainage causes the active part of the bog to contract. The impacts of drainage can extend well into the dome of the bog, causing significant habitat loss. Ending turf cutting on these sites, along with undertaking restoration work to reverse some of the impacts of drainage, will significantly enhance the prospects of achieving favourable conservation status for these bogs. On the whole, turf cutting and the associated drainage required are incompatible with the conservation of raised bog SACs and attainment of favourable conservation status for these sites.

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