Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is good to get a question relating to my Department. I will set out the vision of Ireland's national peatlands strategy, which is "to provide a long-term framework within which all of the peatlands within the State can be managed responsibly in order to optimise their social, environmental and economic contribution to the well-being of this and future generations". The strategy sets out a cross-governmental approach to managing issues that relate to peatlands, including compliance with relevant national and international environmental legislation, climate change, forestry, water quality, flood control, energy, nature conservation and restoration, land use planning and agriculture. It is underlined by 25 key principles and commits to undertaking 32 actions across various sectors and themes including, among others, tourism, agriculture, forestry, conservation, energy, water quality and climate change. The strategy was developed in partnership between relevant Departments, State bodies and key stakeholders through the Peatlands Council.

The strategy was established to cover the period 2015 to 2025 and included provision for a mid-term review. The original principles and actions of the strategy were a positive attempt to stake out a plan in a rapidly changing context, with the understanding that circumstances were evolving and that goals and actions would need to be updated to match them. It was always intended to be a living document. The purpose of the mid-term review is, therefore, to provide a broader assessment on where the strategy currently is, what it can achieve over the coming years and, if necessary, to propose changes to the actions set out in the strategy to refocus it in line with its overall goals and the current context.

Internal drafting and consultations began in 2020 on the review with stakeholders consulted in the preparation of a draft mid-term review document. A public consultation on the mid-term review concluded at the end of June 2021, with a sizeable number of submissions received from individuals and bodies involved in the sector. The review proposes that the actions set out in the strategy be updated into a new implementation plan, which focuses on refining outstanding actions and prioritising measurable, achievable objectives. It is intended that the annual progress report will be published at the end of June 2022, with the outcome of the review published, subject to Government approval, shortly thereafter.

One of the strategy's actions relates to the consideration of the creation of a national peatlands park. My Department intends to undertake a feasibility assessment this year that would inform the establishment of such a park and examine existing and potential visitor facilities in the ownership of public, semi-State and voluntary bodies, such as the mid-Shannon wilderness park. The strategy also sets out the principles for the after-use of industrial cutover peatlands, climate change and the restoration and rehabilitation of sites. As part of just transition, under the enhanced decommissioning, rehabilitation and restoration scheme sponsored by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, and regulated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department, with Bord na Móna acting as the operators of the scheme, 33,000 ha of Bord na Móna peatlands that had peat extracted for electricity generation will be rehabilitated. The rehabilitation will take place on 82 bogs over a five-year period. Funding of €108 million is allocated for this scheme under the climate action fund but, subsequently, full funding was secured from the EU recovery and resilience facility.

It is my understanding that some mid-Shannon bogs, such as parts of Derryadd Bog and the Mountdillon Bog group, are included in scheme. I further understand that if the operator intends to sell, charge or carry out any development or economic activity on rehabilitated peatlands, it must first provide substitute lands with equivalent benefits as the original and to the satisfaction of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, as regulator. Any proposed development on peatlands will be subject, as required, to the planning process, associated environmental assessments and public participation mechanisms required under national and EU environmental law. Considerations regarding the use of peatlands are also an integral part of the current national land use review being undertaken as part of the programme for Government to ensure that optimal land use options inform all relevant Government decisions.