Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to outline the position on these matters on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan. The Minister apologises for not being available to attend in person. I should point out that Bord na Móna is a commercial State company. Operational matters such as land use are the responsibility of the board and management team and not matters in which the Minister has any direct role or function.

Bord na Móna's repositioning as a climate solutions company has been progressing for many years and through its brown to green strategy, Bord na Móna is involved in renewable power generation, recycling, resource recovery and peatland rehabilitation. Peatlands play an important role in carbon storage. Rehabilitated peatlands in particular have the potential to contribute significantly to reducing emissions within the land use, land-use change and forestry, LULUCF, sector. Peatlands cover approximately 21% of Ireland's landscape and contain approximately two thirds of Ireland's carbon stock. The peatland rehabilitation measures set out in the Climate Action Plan 2023 provide for the rehabilitation of 33,000 ha of Bord na Móna peatlands by 2025 and will contribute significantly to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions for the land use sector.

The commitment by the company to formally cease harvesting peat has allowed Bord na Móna to focus on challenges concerning energy supply, biodiversity and the circular economy. As we are all aware, the electricity sector faces an immense challenge to meet its requirements under the sectoral emissions ceilings. Electricity will play an important role in the decarbonisation of other sectors through electrification, including transport, heating, and industry. The Climate Action Plan 2023 sets out a number of actions to accelerate the development of offshore wind, onshore wind, and solar through a competitive framework to reach 80% of electricity demand from renewable electricity by 2030. This targets 6 GW of onshore wind and up to 5 GW of solar by 2025.

Bord na Móna is constructing two of Ireland's largest wind farms. These will generate sufficient electricity to power 120,000 homes. The investment involved is €250 million. These projects form part of the company's ten-year plan to invest in excess of €1.6 billion in renewable energy infrastructure and generating assets to position the company as the country's leading renewable energy business.

Across its 80,000 ha land bank, Bord na Móna operates more than 30 different sites and public amenities, including Lough Boora Discovery Park and Mountlucas Wind Farm. At its peak, Boora supplied over 1 million tonnes of peat every year, helping power Ireland's industries and homes. Lough Boora is now a sanctuary for wildlife and an amenity for the community. This former cutaway bog has been transformed into a haven for biodiversity and includes 50 km of walking and cycling trails, a 40 ha sculpture park, a modern visitor centre and an array of lakes for fishing and recreation. The 1,100 ha wind farm at Mountlucas is home to a growing abundance of plant and animal species. The wind farm includes an interactive learning hub for school and private guided tours, and 10 km of walking and cycling trails which are open to the public year-round. Overall, support for Bord na Móna's strategy includes the use of its land as a unique asset in working towards Government's policies and objectives.

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