Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I take on board what the Deputy says and I will inquire further into it. As he is aware, there was a High Court judgment in 2019, which reaffirmed that commercial peat extraction, absent planning permission, constitutes unauthorised development and the onus is on operators to first regularise their past activity via the planning system. I do not say that necessarily applies here. Planning permission can then be secured before any recommencement of harvesting can take place. There are issues in terms of continuing to extract peat. In late November, the Government approved €108 million for Bord na Móna's large-scale peatlands restoration project, which will create and support 350 jobs in Bord na Móna and contribute to Ireland's target of being carbon-neutral by 2050. Commercial peat extraction is subject to a dual-consent process requiring planning permission. Sites of more than 50 ha require an integrated pollution control licence from the Environmental Protection Agency.

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