Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

In 2005 the then Government committed to designating these raised bogs as NHAs as part of the compliance with an ECJ judgment. An inevitable part of that designation was ending turf cutting on them. This Government is rowing back on that commitment and claiming that the fact that it is going to do less than it said it would is some sort of success story.

Our raised bogs are among the best examples of raised bog habitats left in Europe. In addition to their obvious biodiversity value, peatlands are very important carbon sinks. They also act like large sponges helping to protect us from flooding. After the many recent catastrophic floods does this Government not get how crucial it is to take preventative action and not the exact opposite? Worse still, when drained and harvested these bogs will go from being carbon sinks to very large carbon sources. The Minister can dress this up whatever way she wishes today but to the Green Party and to many others it is nothing more than a shameful destruction of our heritage all for the sake of a promise to support and keep this Government in power. Most unfortunate of all, there was an alternative solution for all which would have protected our heritage. Raised bogs can be traced back to the Ice Age, some 10,000 years ago and 10,000 years of heritage is now being bartered and traded for votes to keep the Minister and this Government in power. The way it is going this Government might not even see a few hundred days.

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