The Government looks set to renew its efforts to comply with European laws that prohibit turf-cutting on 53 raised bogs in the State.
Minister for Arts and Heritage Heather Humphreys briefed her ministerial colleagues at the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday about the next steps she intends to take to address the issue.
Under an EU Habitats directive, turf-cutting is prohibited on the raised bogs, which have a protected status. Non-compliance with the directive could result in fines of €12 million being levied against the State each year.
The directive has met fierce resistance on some of the bogs, with turf-cutters defying the directive, notwithstanding a compensation and alternative bog scheme introduced by the Coalition.
The Government and those campaigning against the law have each claimed to have majority support among plot-owners.
The dispute has sometimes led to the Garda being called in and has led to arrests and court cases. A leading representative of the turf-cutters association, Michael Fitzmaurice, won the Roscommon-South Leitrim byelection last year.
Ms Humphreys told her Cabinet colleagues yesterday that up to the end of last year, more than 3,200 turf-cutters had applied for compensation.
Compensation
She said that almost €12 million had been spent in compensation payments, as well as on free turf deliveries. She also said 80 per cent of turf-cutters were co-operating with the cessation.
However, Mr Fitzmaurice said yesterday that Ms Humphreys must be in “cloud cuckooland” if she thought the problem had been solved.
He said that rather than 80 per cent compliance, the evidence was that only 1,500 or so of 9,000 plot owners had signed up to the schemes.
He also asserted that despite all the warnings about fines, that Ireland had yet to pay a cent for any fine on turf-cutting.
He said that cutting had occurred on 30 of the 53 bogs last year.
“We have always been willing to sit down.
“ If they want to keep ramming it through, I can tell them we are continuing, and will continue, to cut our turf,” he said.
