Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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I raise the situation in Ardgraigue, Barroughter and Clonmoylan bogs in south-east Galway. The local turf cutting contractor was served with a High Court injunction to cease cutting turf earlier this year. As a result, local people have been left without a supply of fuel this winter. There are over 40 families affected. It is important to say that these are bogs where local people have cut turf for many years. This is causing significant distress to the people affected. Many are elderly, have dwindling supplies or do not have an alternative supply of turf. They now face into the cold winter months without fuel.

The bogs have been designated as special areas of conservation, SACs. People have been offered a once-off payment from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, to walk away from the bog and to allow rewetting. Many have declined it - as is their right - because many want to continue to heat their homes with turf. It is the only realistic option for them. Other forms of heating are far too expensive to install.

This injunction was taken out and it seems that these families are being coerced and forced into this scheme. They do not want to take part in it because they will be left worse off if they do and will not be able to cut turf again. I understand that under the legislation the families could be allowed to harvest turf if the Minister, Deputy Browne, signs an activity requiring consent, ARC, order. Their main ask is that the Minister signs this order to allow them to return to their bogs. I ask the Minister of State to outline if this will be facilitated.

I also raise the fact that the NPWS is beginning works to wet the bogs of those who have signed up to the scheme. This includes the installation of dam blocks to block drains with the aim of raising the water table in the bog. There are significant concerns surrounding the risk of flooding on neighbouring land, the risk posed by holes left behind and who would be held libel in the case of any injuries caused by these holes. There has been a complete lack of consultation. The NPWS is not responsive at all and does not seem to be accountable to anybody. I also want to raise concerns with the process around the SACs designations. These three bogs were designated to be sites of community importance, SCIs, by 2002. Under the habitats directive, if SCIs are intended to be made special areas of conservation this must be done within six years of them being designated SCIs.

In this case, the three bogs were not officially designated as SACs until the years between 2021 and 2023. This is in direct conflict with the timelines mandated under the habitats directive but we have had no real explanation yet for this. I ask the Minister of State to provide that this evening. There are questions around the process but the big question the local people want answered is whether the Minister will sign an ARC order to allow turf to be cut in these bogs again.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy O’Hara for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, and the Minister, Deputy Browne. The bogs at Ardgraigue, Barroughter and Cloonmoylan are special areas of conservation in the Deputy's county of Galway. I reaffirm the Government's commitment to protecting Ireland’s valuable peatlands and to working with all stakeholders. As the Deputy will be aware, peatlands are of cultural, economic and ecological importance to Ireland and are profoundly significant for our communities and our history. They are a cornerstone of many communities; a source of heating, as the Deputy pointed out; a way of passing on knowledge; and a deeply held right for many families.

The EU habitats directive requires member states to select sites for the protection of habitats that are considered threatened, including active raised bog, which is considered to be in danger of disappearing within the EU territory. Ireland has selected 63 sites for the protection of active raised bog habitats, including Ardgraigue, Barroughter and Cloonmoylan bogs, and has designated these bogs as special areas of conservation. This protects approximately 9% of our original raised bog resource.

The Government adopted a clear long-term strategy to protect these sites. In 1999 the Government announced arrangements for the cessation of turf cutting on raised bog special areas of conservation, and a compensation package, including for the three bogs the Deputy referenced, was outlined. It also announced that commercial turf cutting would cease on certain SACs and that a ten-year derogation was given for domestic turf cutting. At the end of this derogation, following extensive stakeholder consultation, the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme was launched in 2011. The scheme was advertised again in 2024, closing to new applicants in 2025.

These raised bog SACs are included in European sites as identified by the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011. Statutory instruments for each site further affirm their protected status. The cutting of turf may not be carried out or caused to be carried out or continued to be carried out on these plots by any person save in accordance with the provisions of regulation 30 of the 2011 regulations or with the consent of the relevant authority or both. I understand that since 2011, no planning application for turf extraction has been made on Ardgraigue, Barroughter or Cloonmoylan and no formal request for ministerial consent has been received. It is a criminal offence subject to prosecution to extract turf without the required ministerial consent or relevant statutory consent or both.

Extensive supports have been put in place to assist turf cutters on these sites. The cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme compensates households affected by restrictions on turf cutting for domestic use on raised bog special areas of conservation. To date, the Department has paid out over €7.3 million to 329 families who had been cutting turf on the three bogs in question and is processing a further 118 applications.

The protected raised bog restoration incentive scheme is also available to landowners who wish to have their lands included as part of that scheme.

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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From the response, I do not think the Minister of State appreciates the distress and tension this situation is causing in the local community. He outlined the compensation schemes available but the reality is there are 40 families in the area who are well aware of the schemes but have not entered the schemes and will not enter them. They have been allowed to cut turf on these bogs for many years. Now they are being left without the fuel they rely on to heat their homes. I have outlined that many of the people affected are elderly. It is a deeply unfair situation. They have been kept in the dark about the process of designating the bogs as SACs and the ongoing works by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS. They feel they are being bullied and coerced into signing up to a scheme they do not wish to sign up to. It is regrettable to see how divisive it becomes in the local community when people are pressured into signing up to something like this.

The Minister of State said no formal request for ministerial consent has been received. Can he clarify whether a formal request must be made? Were a request to be received, would it be considered and, in the Minister of State's view, granted? If clarity cannot be provided on these issues, I ask that at the very least, the Minister of State or the Minister, Deputy Browne, or the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, from the Department would meet the families affected and hear first-hand about the impact it is having on them. They are very reasonable people who work hard and want to get on with their lives in peace and quiet. Will the Minister of State or the Minister, Deputy Browne, or the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, from the Department commit to meeting them before the end of the year? I would be more than happy to facilitate it.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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All I can do is take back what the Deputy has said to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, and the Minister, Deputy Browne. I cannot give an indication of whether an application, if made, would be accepted. That would have to go through, I assume, an assessment process. It is not within my remit so I am not fully au fait with the process that would be involved.

I re-emphasise that we are trying to progress the 118 applications still in the system and that €7.3 million has been paid out to 329 families under the scheme. I appreciate the comments the Deputy has made. I understand the importance of this from the cultural, economic and ecological points of view. The strategy to protect raised bogs dates back to 1999, long before either of us was involved in politics. I will take the Deputy's comments back to both Ministers. I assure him we are prioritising the applications in front of us under the compensation scheme. I suggest that if the Deputy formally writes to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, we can get an official response to the comments he has raised.