Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Review of Raised Bog Natural Heritage Area Network, published in January 2014, concluded that Ireland could more effectively achieve conservation of threatened raised bog habitat through focus, protection and restoration of a reconfigured network. This will entail the phasing out by 1 January 2017 of turf cutting on 36 existing natural heritage areas, which will remain designated.

This includes seven sites to be divided, with part to be conserved and part de-designated. There will also be complete de-designation of 46 natural heritage areas, including the relevant areas of the seven sites to be divided, where it has been judged that their contribution to the attainment of the national conservation objective for raised bogs is expected to be marginal and restoration would be prohibitively expensive for the conservation benefits achieved. There will be designation as natural heritage areas, NHAs, of 25 currently undesignated raised bogs that are in public ownership or in respect of which there is reduced turf cutting pressure.

The purpose of the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016 is to provide for the implementation of this reconfiguration. The Bill is scheduled for Committee State in the House on Thursday. The role that peatlands play in carbon sequestration is recognised in the national peatlands strategy, which was published this year. Officials from my on Department are engaging with other relevant Departments in exploring the potential of wetlands, particularly restored peatlands, to perform carbon storage and sequestration functions that can assist in achieving Ireland's greenhouse gas reduction targets.

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