Turf cutting on raised bogs in 2023 was down by almost 40% when compared with the previous year, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has said.
The department added that there has been a complete cessation of turf-cutting on almost 80% of the raised bog in special areas of conservation (SACs) since 2011.
The comments come as the European Commission yesterday (Wednesday, March 14) announced it will refer Ireland to the Court of Justice of the EU for alleged failure to protect bog habitats.
According to the commission, Ireland has failed to apply the Habitats Directive to protect sites designated for raised bog and blanket bog habitats from turf cutting.
“These sites continue to be degraded through drainage and turf cutting activities, and insufficient action is being taken to restore the sites,” it said.
Turf cutting
In a statement, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said that Ireland has “proactively engaged” with the commission and stakeholders in relation to alleged breaches and “stands ready to defend its position”.
“The State has invested significantly since 2011 in the conservation and restoration of our peatlands.
“Additional progress has been achieved over the past two years in collaboration with stakeholders and turf cutters,” the department added.
The department said there has been an overall decrease in turf cutting and further reductions are expected this year as a result of ongoing discussions with turf cutting contractors
“This is a site by site and season by season endeavour and huge progress is being made by negotiation and agreement,” it said.
Almost 3,000 applications have been made under the Cessation of Turf Cutting Compensation Scheme in National Heritage Areas (NHA) and SACs.
The department said that the peatlands restoration programme on both the raised and blanket bog SAC network is being ramped up “with hugely significant acreage under active restoration”.
It also noted that 20,000 farmers on 55 blanket bog SACs are taking part in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).
The department said that it will “carefully consider” the details of the case once papers are received from the European Commission.
In the meantime, the department said it will “continue to implement, prioritise, and advance measures to conserve our protected peatlands in consultation with stakeholders”.
Contractors
Independent Ireland TD and chairperson of the Turf Cutters and Contractors Association (TCCA) Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice has condemned the decision of the EU Commission to refer Ireland to the EU Court of Justice.
He said that the move has “obliterated” years of progress made between the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and domestic turf-cutters and contractors
The Roscommon-Galway TD visited the commission within the past year to articulate the unique challenges involved in managing SACs within the Irish context and outlined the progress that has been made.
Deputy Fitzmaurice plans to convene a meeting of the TCCA Executive to “deliberate on critical next steps”.
This may include considering the withdrawal of cooperation in relation to the re-wetting of lands and whether to resume dialogue with the NPWS.
The TD said the commission’s decision “creates the serious risk that we will see a complete breakdown in cooperation between stakeholders domestically, and may very well see a return to tensions on Irish bogs which in recent years had been defused”.
Deputy Fitzmaurice noted that the tradition of turf cutting is naturally diminishing, with newer generations moving away from practices necessitating peat as fuel.
“The EU has once again shown that it is out of touch with reality and is more interested in using a hammer to crack this nut than diplomacy. Which is my book is the mark of a bully.
“I will do all I can to ensure the arguments advanced at the ECJ are reflective of the reality on the ground here in Ireland,” he said.
Rights
Independent TD Galway East Sean Canney has called on the government to “put Irish citizens first and protect them and their right to cut turf for their own use”.
“At present people who are cutting turf are doing so as the only way of heating their homes, providing hot water, washing clothes and cooking meals for their families.
“The alternative form of heating is too expensive for most people to install, and the running cost are not affordable to most families,” he said.
“The Habitats Directive requires member states to protect their most precious natural habitats but where does the Irish citizen fit in, and rights of a citizen to live and provide heat and food for their family. Surely human life is more precious than a bog.
“The European Commission have stated that Ireland has failed to protect its bogs, but I contend our people need to be protected first.
“It is time for Ireland to stand up and be counted and take serious rural Ireland and the long-standing tradition of cutting turf in bogs for use in our homes,” Deputy Canney added.