Bord na Móna has confirmed that its applications for leave to apply for substituted consent have been granted by An Bord Pleanála (ABP).
The company had been prevented from harvesting peat this season as a result of a High Court ruling (explained below) in September 2019 which struck down the peat regulations enacted in January of last year.
The decision by ABP relates to the harvesting of peat on bogs over 30ha and helps sustain peat supply to Derrinlough Briquette Factory in Co. Offaly, the horticulture business and meet the reduced peat requirement for Edenderry Power Station.
The scale of the collapse in energy demand caused by the health crisis means that many of the recent Covid-19 mitigation measures, including the temporary release of employees, will likely remain in place.
The company will, however, review the implications of the ABP announcement to assess the new operational requirements for peat operations.
The company will communicate the full implications of this decision to employees in the coming days and weeks.
High Court Ruling
The situation harks back to a High Court ruling from last September when an environmental group challenged the country’s peat extraction regulations – which permitted the harvesting of peat from Irish bogs, over 30ha, provided they had a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or applied for a licence by July 24, 2020.
The group – Friends of the Irish Environment – contended that these regulations ran contrary to EU directives on environmental protection.
The court ruled that those seeking to extract peat from Irish bogs larger than 30ha in size had to acquire planning permission prior to obtaining a licence from the EPA.
However, with the 2020 peat extraction season having just kicked off in recent weeks, the consequences of the ruling are now intensifying on the ground.
Private horticulture sector
In addition to the Bord na Móna application, a large number of other privately-owned companies that supply peat for horticultural means – for example, those supplying peat for mushroom casing (a blended layer of wet peat that stimulates the formation of mushrooms) – are also grappling with significant supply-chain uncertainty in the midst of this year’s harvest due to the ruling.
Representatives of the private horticulture sector have warned that thousands of jobs in the sector – direct and indirect – are under threat as a result of the current prohibition of peat harvesting on all Irish bogs covering a landmass over 30ha.
These private companies are also in the process of trying to get permission to carry out this summer’s harvest – however, it is feared that the process could take substantially longer for these companies, with some warnings of a four to six year time-frame to get applications over the line.
In light of the High Court ruling the new planning process is: (a) apply to ABP for ‘leave to apply’ for substitute consent; and, if granted, (b) apply to ABP for substitute consent; and, if granted, (c) apply to the county council for planning permission; and, if granted, (d) apply to the EPA for a licence.
Stay tuned to AgriLand for more on this developing story…