Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the report that the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, is proposing to de-designate 46 raised bogs as natural heritage areas. We need to speak urgently with the Minister on her plans. She is focusing on addressing a specific challenge by abandoning completely any attempt to address the national and international importance of our bogs.

As a field ecologist I understand the importance of the raised bogs. I have carried out ecological surveys in bogs and can say that we in Ireland have the finest examples of raised bogs in Europe. I understand the grievances of historic family turf cutters.Once again, there has been a familiar failure by the State, going back to when the Habitats Directive was first negotiated, to properly plan for their full implementation. However, in moving to permit fresh unrestricted cutting on these 46 sites, the Government is throwing away so much. I would like to hear from the Minister if she will commit to carrying out environmental impact assessments on each of the proposed de-designations. These boglands are a unique natural repository of information about past climates, vegetation and human activity and they have extreme value for biodiversity, acting as a carbon sink and mitigating against flooding. They also attract tourists to Ireland. Seamus Heaney's poetry gives us a great sense of the importance of our bogs. I hope other Senators will join me in condemning this move and seeking that the Minister comes to the House to explain her reasoning for the de-designations.