Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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454. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the average processing time for a cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35395/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Cessation of Turf Cutting Compensation Scheme (CTCCS) was established in 2011 for domestic turf cutters affected by restrictions on turf cutting on designated raised bogs. The scheme is comprised of a payment of €1,500 per annum, index-linked, for 15 years, or accommodation, where feasible, on a non-designated bog, together with a once-off payment of €500 on signing a legal agreement with the Minister.

The qualification criteria for the scheme, administered by my Department include that:

• The applicant must have had a legal interest/ownership or a turbary right in one of the 53 raised bog Special Areas of Conservation or 36 raised bog Natural Heritage Areas encompassed by the scheme on 25 May 2010 and must have had the right to cut and remove turf from that property on that date.

• The applicant must have been cutting turf on the said land in question during the qualifying five-year period up to 31 December 2011 and the turf resource has not been exhausted.

Each application received under the CTCCS is individually assessed and processed by my Department. Applications can vary depending on the quality of documentation provided. Additional information may be requested to support the application such as evidence of legal title. Applications may also need further investigation by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to assess if turf-cutting took place in the qualifying period of the scheme. This may involve undertaking a turf extraction assessment, carried out by Bord na Móna or an on-site visit by NPWS.

My Department is currently working to process a tranche of 531 new applications received since the announcement of the closure of the scheme in September 2024 as well as processing annual payments to over 2200 applicants who are already qualified for the scheme.

Once an applicant is deemed qualified under the scheme it generally takes one to two weeks for the persons payment to be processed and cleared. An applicant can contact my Department directly for an update with regard to their individual application.