Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this issue. My colleague, Deputy Troy, would like to be here as he has been very involved in this issue, but, unfortunately, he cannot be present owing to another engagement.

We should go back to the beginning of this saga. In 1997 the rainbow coalition Government signed the habitats directive into law. I can remember the Dáil debate held at the time on the issue with the then Minister, Mr. Michael D. Higgins, now President. When Ms Síle de Valera and I entered the Department, we were both involved in the debate on the SAC issue, central to which was the raised bogs issue.

It is absolutely true to say we never received a ten year derogation from the authorities in Brussels because they were never going to agree to one. What we did - what Governments need to do in such instances - was we travelled to Brussels to tell the officials we would offer a ten year derogation to domestic bog cutters and arrange to remove the commercial turf cutters who accounted for a figure of 96% of the effort, if memory serves me correctly. However, the European Union stated it was not going to extend an official derogation, but that it would not interfere in providing for the introduction of a ten year period. I regret that within that ten years the Department was not more proactive in doing what the previous and current Governments have done to resolve the issue. I have recognised for many years, and I am glad there has been a conversion on the Government side, that the European Union would take Ireland to court if there was not conservation of raised bog. I am pleased there appears to be a consensus on all sides that raised bogs must be conserved. I understand the proposals put forward by the Turf Cutters and Contractors Association recognise this and also that if any of the designated bogs continue to be cut, the preserved bog would be supplemented by compensatory bog that has not been designated to date and which would be of equal quality.

The elements of the plan that are being put forward now were put on the table some years ago, these being that one could have a choice between cash, relocation or turf delivered to the door. An argument arose about the duration of these compensatory arrangements and the amount. Some progress was made, particularly in County Offaly, about which my colleague, Deputy Barry Cowen, will speak. Even though as Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs I had no ministerial responsibility for this area, I was involved in discussions two years ago with various interests with a view to progressing the issue. When I was Minister at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for a short time last year, the officials and I came up with the concept of Comhairle na bPortach. It a nicety to give these organisations an Irish language title, although it is now called the Peatlands Council. The great advantage of the Irish language is that peat and turf are the same in Irish. A portach is a bog and móin is turf. To a country person, peat does not sound as homely as turf but we will not get into the semantics of language. I was preparing a memorandum for Government, a copy of which I kept until the day the new Government assumed office and a copy of which the Minister will find in the files of the Department.

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