Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

As a representative from the midlands, it has been a very busy few weeks in my office. Many people have been in touch to say they must burn turf to warm their homes. People with turbary rights have been in touch concerned that they were at risk of criminalisation. This narrative fuelled by some who should know better. My office has replied to the majority, outlining my position, and where possible, we have been able to alleviate concerns.

A few weeks ago I stood in this Chamber and I committed to advocating for a balanced approach on the draft clean air strategy. I did this knowing that turf burning pollutes the air we breathe, causing ill health and death. I did it also with a clear awareness of the drastic environmental cost of each passing turf harvest. However, I did it because I felt that, on balance, it was a socially just thing to do and I will continue to advocate for additional supports as homes transition away from a reliance on turf. I was, therefore, quite taken aback to read an article last week in The Guardianin which the journalist Rory Carroll reported that for some who knowingly extract turf from bogs in special areas of conservation, it is not about the cost of alternatives to turf but he wrote that for some it was about identity and, to paraphrase him, “showing the wildlife crowd that flexing their muscles won't have any impact here”.

I stand proudly with the wildlife crowd and I am asking them today to keep flexing those muscles and fighting for the preservation of nature and to keep calling out unacceptable behaviour where people are proudly destroying habitats. I also plead with those who think calling for improvements in air quality or habitat preservation is some form of an attack on them to think deeply about alternatives and to think about the damage that is being done. We are depleting one of our largest carbon stores and the habitats of some of Ireland's most important species. These bogs have taken thousands of years to form yet just 1% of Ireland's active raised bogs now remain after years of land reclamation and peat harvesting.It is not true to say that because you love the bog, you are doing no harm. Peat is a fossil fuel and a precious natural resource. Yes, turf burning will continue for many people but it is reducing every year as more people move with the times and find alternative ways to heat their homes. However, a person's identity should never be so entangled with a tradition that they can justify harming our landscape in the name of that tradition.

Our days on the bog are numbered. I think everyone accepts that because we will look back with mixed views; some of us with reminiscence, some with resentment and some with relief. However, what the debate must focus on is clean air and the health of people in the midlands. I will continue to fight for that. I hope that when future generations visit bogs of the midlands like Clara and Abbeyleix, they will be thankful for the preservation of these wonderful natural resources that many of us stood up to protect when we had the chance.