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

I put it to the Deputy that there is more being done now than has been done in the past 16 years.

No one can deny that a really serious effort is being made now. My approach is an all-inclusive one. All of the relevant parties are involved in it. This is a European issue, rather than just an Irish issue. Deputy Naughten made a point about the number of officials on the ground. I accept that there is a resource issue here. This is a major problem. We are addressing it now, when we should have been addressing it for 16 years. We are trying to do in a small space of time what we should have been doing for the last 16 years. There is a resource problem. Our officials on the ground are really stretched. It is not easy for them. They are trying to close bogs that belong to people they know. Many of them are going through a difficult period of time in their own neighbourhoods. It is not easy for them. That should be respected.

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