Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)

The habitats directive was issued by the European Union in 1992 and transposed into Irish law in 1997. In a statutory instrument the State designated a number of bogs as special areas of conservation. It deemed that in order to comply with the directive turf cutting had to cease completely on the designated raised bogs. It sought and received a derogation from the necessity to cease turf cutting for ten years.

Article 2.3 of the habitats directive states measures taken pursuant to it "shall take into account economic, social and cultural requirements and regional and local characteristics". I do not wish to lecture my constituency colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan, on bogs, as I empathise with him as the bog at issue in north Kerry is the very one on which his grandfather cut turf. Given that I was deemed to be the perfect height for turning turf when I was out of nappies, I understand our legacy. I have been involved in the issue for the past 20 years. My father was one of the first to say the designation of the candidate special areas of conservation would present an enormous problem for the country. At the time candidate special areas of conservation were analysed with a view to determining what it meant not only in environmental or fuel security terms, to which previous speakers referred, but also culturally and, more importantly, societally. I recall the days spent on the bog with one's family and friends and the endeavour and toil involved and what it meant to a group and the attachment to the land. There is a line by Christy Moore, "If talk of turf drives you crazy ... make for Inch". Unfortunately, Inch is where my interest lies on this issue.

The landmass designated as a special area of conservation here is bigger than anywhere else in Europe. We have to go back to the European Union to say we thought that there would be a process of analysis of candidate special areas of conservation to the point where the National Parks and Wildlife Service would state some areas would be converted to special areas of conservation but others would not. One must take the human dimension into account as it is more important than anything else.

It is welcome that the issue has come to a head tonight. I say to those gathered outside Leinster House that there is more than turf cutting at stake. Those affected include people who are trying to develop their land, while farmers also have a stake in the issue. As long as we have a consultation process, we can come up with a solution. I welcome the Minister's statement that there will be comprehensive engagement and that a national plan will be put in place. In some cases, relocation is probably not the solution. We must examine what is coming from the European Union. The Government has a big cleaning-up act to do and we will have to do it on the habitats directive also.

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