Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I call on the Minister to clarify the situation and to present the findings of the interdepartmental working group set up to examine the issue of the cessation of turf cutting on 32 raised bogs in the special area of conservation, SAC. The restrictions affect 6,000 farmers and rural dwellers and has impacted seriously on the livelihood of families during the worst economic downturn for decades. Those affected live in an area which is impoverished in some respects. The country is almost in a state of emergency and the climate has changed dramatically in every respect. It is far too late for contractors preparing for the season ahead and too late for bog owners to convert to alternative sources of fuel. The country is so dependent on imported fuels and, considering the economic position, surely there exists a major opportunity to alleviate the dependency in the short term by lifting the ban. This is a European, economic, national and a local issue in Roscommon, Leitrim and throughout the west of Ireland and the midlands.

This is a challenge for new and beneficial thinking on a issue that affects mostly rural families who have an opportunity to continue to provide for their own fuel needs without recourse to imports. Effectively, this is our oil well but we are stopping people from using it in this country. I call on the Minister to approach the crisis in an enthusiastic manner and to have the derogation extended given the times in which we live. I call for support from everyone with a voice to influence and support our people on this issue.

Last year, the Minister gave an interpretation in the Dáil to the effect that the ban referred only to sausage machine cutting. Alarmingly, this view was later rescinded. Turf cutting on designated bogs must be continued for domestic purposes. There is no scientific evidence that turf cutting on domestic bogs is damaging to the bogs.

I refer to an area in which I believe the Minister can work with the people. The National Parks and Wildlife Service could offer a relocation to bog owners within one kilometre if there is a plan to designate a certain area. The Minister should put in place mechanisms to protect turf cutting for domestic purposes on the bogs.

Bord Na Móna has stated one acre of bog is worth between €280,000 and €285,000. The only compensation the Minister pays to farmers amounts to €3,000 per acre. Some of these farmers must wait up to five or six years because the Minister simply does not have the money to pay them. Effectively, the Minister is trying to force them to hand over the bogs to the State but he has no money to pay them. The bottom line is people do not seek compensation, they wish to continue cutting turf.

There are a few issues which I must raise. The Department used maps in drawing up these areas of conservation. For the past year and a half, we have tabled questions in the Dáil looking for the maps it used and so far we have got nothing but stony silence. How can the people trust the Department when it will not provide evidence of the maps it used? There is something fundamentally wrong and the people want to know the answers. They will not accept a ban on turf-cutting until the Department can come up with the maps it used to stop these people from cutting turf.

I ask the Minister, Deputy Gormley, to work with the people. These are elderly people who were using turf to heat their homes. They want to continue but they want to work with the Minister, and I ask his Department to work with the people. These people are angry. If this plan stops the people of the country from availing of their right to cut turf, that anger will boil over. I ask the Minister to work with the people but, most importantly, to back-up what he and his Department has stated by producing the maps because the people concerned believe they are being undermined and are being told untruths by this Department.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I appreciate the Deputy's concern and I share his wish to provide clarity to those turf cutters who are affected by the ending of cutting on raised bogs designated for conservation. It is important to point out at the outset that we are talking about only 32 bogs. There are thousands of blanket bogs and other raised bogs out there but, specifically, we are talking about 32 bogs.

The Inter-Departmental Group on Cessation of Turf Cutting in Designated Areas was established by me to examine and make recommendations on all the implications of achieving a cessation of cutting in these sensitive conservation areas. It had been hoped the group would be in a position to report back by the end of October. In the event, this did not prove possible because of the need for widespread and sometimes extended consultations with interested parties, and the need to consider fully the complex legal and administrative issues involved. The group has been very active and has consulted widely. It invited submissions from all interested parties. It met with the organisations representing turf cutting interests as well as conservation organizations. It sought expert advice from within the various Departments, agencies and offices represented on the group. It was not possible to finalise the report of the group while certain important issues remained to be clarified, including legal questions. For the most part, this clarification has now been provided.

I expect to receive the report and recommendations of the group in the coming days. I will then conclude my consideration of the matter under examination as quickly as possible with a view to making proposals to Government without delay. The preparation of the report has taken the group longer than originally expected for the reasons I outlined above. I should point out that, notwithstanding that the report is still awaited by me, it has been known for more than ten years that turf cutting on 32 raised bog special areas of conservation designated before 1999 would no longer be permitted after the expiry of the ten-year derogation given by the then Minister in 1999.

As regards the availability of maps of the bogs concerned, my Department has a complete set and has recently provided copies to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. It is intended to send copies to all affected landowners and turbary rights owners who can be located. They are available also from the Department to anyone else who wishes to receive copies. There is also an interactive map viewer on the NPWS website where the boundaries and aerial photography of all nature conservation areas can be viewed.