Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 216: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the reason it is taking three years to complete the purchase of designated bogs; the steps which he is taking to expedite these purchases by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13704/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The purchase of designated bogland may be complicated by the different types of landownership interests involved, either of the owner or third parties, and therefore can be time consuming from initial application to final closure of contract. Full title to the land must be proven, together with any third party rights. The primary matters which may cause delay include difficulty in sourcing surveyors to carry out inspections, problems in the resolution of title, other legal queries and time involved in processing by the Chief State Solicitor's Office or the landowner's own legal advisers.

My Department has taken steps to speed up the processing of the hundreds of requests on hands, including through the deployment of staff on secondment from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, use of overtime and employment on contract of a number of additional surveyors. This has resulted in a significant increase in the rate of processing of applications within the Department; however delays in complex conveyancing procedures can sometimes be unavoidable.