Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)

I commend Deputy Flanagan on bringing forward the motion, the Turf Cutters and Contractors Association on its very detailed and excellent report and the people who travelled to Dublin today to protect their rights. No one is more concerned about the natural heritage of the Irish countryside than those who live in it. Rural people have been the guardians of this heritage despite the attack of speculators and over-zealous developers during the Celtic tiger years. Those guardians of our natural heritage cannot be isolated or vilified now.

There is a balance to be struck between conservation and utilising our natural resources. Domestic turf cutting is part of the guardianship of our natural heritage. Ireland should not attempt to model itself on the method of conservation that is prevalent in the United States, where vast areas of land are preserved with no human interaction. Ireland does not have the land mass to sustain such a measure. It would be far more prudent to pursue a policy where conservation goes hand in hand with rural dwellers, a policy where the guardians of our natural heritage are supported rather than punished.

There are people and organisations in Europe and in this country who would like to see parts of our rural areas fenced off and left underdeveloped so that visitors can come to see the native people in the natural habitat. We are not museum exhibits and we will not be treated as such.

In the current economic climate, fuel security is a major concern of many people. Recent harsh winters have forced people to make tough financial decisions to keep their homes warm. Domestic turf cutting provides rural dwellers with a reasonable level of fuel security. Families who own their own bank of bog can attain fuel security for a year at a reasonable cost. In such circumstances, it should be a priority of the Government that these households and their successors should be able to retain heat for their homes at a time when the Government is taking so much else from them.

The proposals by the TCCA are reasonable. It has asked for a fair deal for turf cutters and that no one who owns a bank of bog should be left out. They have also asked for fair conditions for those who are relocated to other bogs. There is an example at Flughany, near Tubbercurry in County Sligo, where people are being relocated to a bog at Derrykinlough, where the condition of the new bog is deplorable. That is not good enough.

I wait with interest to see whether the Government and the EU display the same concerns for environmental purity and sustainability when they come to consider the granting of fracking licences in beautiful north Leitrim and elsewhere.

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