Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 204: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if the €500 million that was secured from the EU as package for the cessation of turf cutting is still available following discussions by members of a committee (details supplied) and his Department officials. [41237/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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No specific funding has been made available by the European Union to implement a cessation of turf cutting in Raised Bog Special Areas of Conservation. Funding has been made available by the EU, within the framework of the Rural Development Programme 2007 — 2013, for the protection of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas. Such funding is administered and disbursed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 205: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the way a figure of 35% loss of bog land has occurred in the past ten years in view of the fact that less than 1% would be caused by domestic turf cutters; if he will investigate if they are being deprived by some activities caused by others. [41238/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Ireland has designated 55 Special Areas of Conservation and 75 Natural Heritage Areas for the protection of raised bog habitat. These sites include areas of active raised bog, which is a priority habitat under the Habitats Directive. Active raised bog is the area of the bog on which the indigenous flora are still growing and where peat is being actively formed. Ireland is required and has undertaken to protect the raised bog and active raised bog habitat within these designated areas and to restore the sites to favourable conservation status.

Some 90% of the remaining uncut bog in protected areas is no longer active, i.e. is no longer forming peat, due to drying out from drainage associated with turf cutting. These drying out effects reach far into the bog and as the bog gets smaller the effects on the remaining areas of active bog increase rapidly. If the turf-cutting activity continues, ultimately all the active bog will disappear. It is incorrect therefore to assume that a 1% loss of the area of raised bog through turf cutting results in a 1% loss of active raised bog.

The proportion of active raised bog habitat lost in these sites over ten years has been in the region of 35% — and this has been mainly due to domestic turf cutting and associated drainage.