Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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380. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the progress made on the national peatlands strategy; if turf cutting has now ceased on all raised bog SACs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17792/14]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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In April 2011 the Government made a number of key decisions relating to the conservation and management of Ireland’s peatlands, particularly those sites nominated for designation as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Natural Heritage Areas (NHA). A commitment was made to draw up a national strategy on peatlands conservation and management, in consultation with bog owners and other stakeholders, to deal with long-term issues such as land management & development, restoration, conservation, tourism potential, carbon accounting and community participation in managing this resource.

The independently chaired Peatlands Council was established to assist the Government and stakeholders regarding certain issues related to the management of Ireland’s peatlands and was specifically requested to oversee the drafting of a National Peatlands Strategy.

In late 2011 a first period of public consultation was held on the scope of the strategy. Over 400 submissions were received as part of this consultation. My Department, in consultation with the Peatlands Council and other key Departments and agencies developed the current draft of the Strategy which was opened for public consultation by Government on 15 January 2014 along with the draft National Raised Bog SAC Management Plan and the Review of the Raised Bog NHA Network. The public consultation period runs until this Friday, 18 April 2014, and I would encourage all those who have an interest in these documents to make their views known. The documents can be accessed at

In 2013 there was a marked reduction in the amount of illegal cutting on the 53 Raised Bog SACs with some 250 plots cut on 24 of the protected bogs last year compared to the 453 plots which were cut in 2012 on the same number of bogs. This represents a 45% decline in unauthorised cutting between 2012 and 2013.

This was as a result of enhanced engagement with my Department on the part of individuals and turf cutting communities seeking compensation and the enforcement efforts of my Department’s staff, in conjunction with the Gardaí. To date, 2,918 applications under the Cessation of Turf Cutting Compensation Scheme have been received by my Department with some 4,389 payments and 503 deliveries of turf made to individual turf cutters. In addition, 1,086 final legal agreements have also been signed with individual turf cutters on the raised bog SACs.

It is clear that the majority of domestic turf-cutters on the raised bog special areas of conservation are now engaging with my Department in finding acceptable solutions within the law. The door is still open for others to engage in this process with me, my Department and with other stakeholders to address the needs of turf cutters and other interested parties. Such engagement would, I am sure, help to address the needs of turf cutters more speedily.