TDs have expressed their disappointment after a false allegation was made of illegal peat cutting by the CEO of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC).

During a presentation on biodiversity preservation on peatlands, Dr Cathrine O’Connell used a photo, taken in 2016, of someone cutting peat on a blanket bog at Slieve Tooey in Co. Donegal, with the title “illegal digger and hopper cutting”.

However, independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice, who responded to the presentation first, quickly addressed the photo – believing the bog in question had already been worked on at some time in the past.

That’s a damning sort of allegation to say. My understanding is – on blanket bog, where the ‘sausage machine’ cut one time – that it is not illegal to cut turf with a hopper or a track machine. Is that correct?

Brian Lucas, a nature conservation officer in the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, who was also speaking to the committee, confirmed Fitzmaurice’s suspicions that the activity in question was not illegal.

“Generally, in designated sites, there are activities that generally require the consent of the minister or another public authority. Currently, for the blanket bogs, you do not need the consent of the minister to cut into an existing bank,” said Lucas.

Fitzmaurice responded by arguing that the person in the photo may be identifiable, and raised concerns that it may leave the individual open to legal proceedings for illegal cutting.

It’s pretty easy to know someone who has a caterpillar digger, feed machine and wheel hopper in Donegal. This has come in your presentation to this committee, and it’s on a blanket bog, and from what I can see there, it has been where a sausage machine has worked before. Is that misleading information?

“It’s dangerous to come out with a photo, regardless of who they are…I don’t know the person, but I certainly would find out if I wanted to make an allegation against them,” argued Fitzmaurice.

Initially, O’ Connell was reluctant to retract the allegation; however, Fitzmaurice had back up from Fianna Fail Galway-West TD Eamon O’Cuiv.

“I’m asking the chair to ensure the record is corrected, because it would appear, from what [Lucas] said, that this is a statement that has no foundation in fact. You can say that this is cutting you don’t agree with, but you cannot say illegal – that’s the issue here,” said O’Cuiv.

After O’Cuiv’s contribution, O’Connell was persuaded to retract her allegation, saying: “I withdraw the use of that word [illegal].”

After the committee meeting, Fitzmaurice said: “It was very disappointing to see this accusation arise in the Joint Committee on Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht…thankfully the record was put straight on the matter.”