Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I add Sinn Féin's support to the amendment. It should be a matter of threshold for policy in this area that we manage the carbon sequestration of the State and that we have tangible data on its loss. For too long, the State has formed policy without regard to the cumulative impact on our environment. The carbon storage of peatlands in this regard is not something we should easily trade off, in particular where the cutting is at a faster scale than regeneration. This will not affect those who cultivate their plots for personal use. We only need to look at the recent High Court decision to dissolve regulations to take large-scale peat extraction outside of the Irish planning regime because it contravened European environmental law. Furthermore, in July the European Commission indicated it would take action against the State for continued failure to ensure peat extraction is properly assessed for environmental impact as required under EU law. Considering this, there needs to be a common thread in the legislation that acknowledges the carbon neutralising resource our peatlands provide and what impact any unjustifiable removal may have that is outside the allowance of peat extraction for household use as agreed with turf cutters.