Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister of State. I am delighted he is here to answer the question because it relates to the mid-Shannon wilderness park, which I am sure he is familiar with. The issue is Bord na Móna promised that once it had finished removing peat, the bog would be handed back to the community. After spending generations harvesting peat, the local community decided it wanted a network of bogs that would be turned into a wilderness park. This was supported by the Longford senior planner in 2013. Mr. Pádraic Fogarty of the Irish Wildlife Trust has made a wonderful podcast on this issue, including the history of the plans for the wilderness park and the potential richness of its biodiversity. In the episode, he reviews the original plan for the wilderness park and describes what needs to happen.

In short, very little needs to be done on this site. A modest amount of intervention is sometimes needed to retain water in shallow lakes. Wilderness requires that we keep our hands off and let an ecological equilibrium that is in tune with the altered conditions establish itself. Left to their own devices, or rewilded, these cutaway bogs would generally flood once the pumps are switched off and, as the Minister of State knows, quickly revert to scenic areas with reeds and birch trees colonising them. In the process, we turn the bog from a carbon source to a carbon sink. We all know that if biodiversity is given the space it needs, it will flourish. The local community and economy would have a wonderful amenity they would be able to enjoy it, in addition to a tourism industry to sustain them.

The reason I raise this matter is the community was shocked to hear that Bord na Móna's plan for that site was to build a wind farm on it. While there is lots of misinformation about wind turbines killing birds, the types of birds that would use this particular site are cranes, white-tailed eagles and whooper swans. Wind farms would be a threat to them. Furthermore, when wind turbines are installed, the water must continue to be pumped, which results in net carbon emissions.

We know Bord na Móna withdrew its original application on this site. It was before a judicial review. I understand the reason Bord na Móna withdrew the application was it knew it was going to lose but, unfortunately, we now hear there is a strong possibility it will submit a new plan for a wind farm. It has been pumping water off the site throughout the winter, despite the high biodiversity value of the area. I recommend anybody to follow the Mid Shannon Wilderness Park social media account. One will see the place is a hive of activity when it comes to wildlife.

The crux of the question is that I urge the Minister of State to intervene now before the planning application is submitted to ensure the original proposal for the wilderness park goes ahead. The mid-Shannon park would go some way towards mitigating our climate and biodiversity crisis. Why is Bord na Móna pumping water off this site? I ask the Minister of State to directly intervene regarding that site and to support the community in its plans. As part of the just transition, it wants to see a wilderness park on this site. That is a win-win for everybody in terms of climate change, biodiversity and just transition. Why is Bord na Móna continuing to pump the land? Will the Minister of State intervene to ensure the mid-Shannon wilderness park, which is in the peatlands strategy, goes ahead?

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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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.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for clarity on when we will see the mid-term review, which was due in quarter 1 of 2022. I am concerned about the reference to the operator, if it intends to sell, charge or carry out any development, being required to provide substitute lands with equivalent benefits because this site is already proving its value. Even if the national peatlands strategy is a living document, principle 16 states "cutaway bogs that flood naturally ... be permitted to flood unless there is a clear environmental and/or economic case to maintain pumped drainage". In addition, principle 18 states, "Environmentally, socially and economically viable options should be analysed to plan the future use of industrial cutaway[s] ... in conjunction with limiting factors as outlined in Bord na Móna’s Strategic Framework for the Future Use of Peatlands".It is concerning if there is any hint that Bord na Móna will just substitute this location with another location because all we need to do is stop the pumping of the water. This site is an amenity for the local community and its biodiversity is thriving. That is a concern for me.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator. I know every dust of peat on Mountdillon Bog as it is close to me.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I reassure the Senator that any proposed development on peatlands would be subject to a planning process and environmental assessment, as I noted in my opening statement. This is a matter for Bord na Móna, which is a semi-State company. Our involvement is through the national peatlands strategy. The ultimate goal of the National Parks and Wildlife Service is to achieve the maximum value of biodiversity for Ireland. We have major objectives as regards nature under the next national biodiversity action plan. The specific issues raised are largely a matter for Bord na Móna. The engagement between Bord na Móna and the mid-Shannon wilderness park group is vital for that group. We all want to achieve the same objectives for nature and it is critically important that any proposals that are made are subject to all the environmental rigours that any other project would be subject to, particularly where there are such environmental and biodiversity sensitivities.