Irish Government failing to stop illegal turf cutting…

Irish Government failing to stop illegal turf cutting on 'protected' bogs - it's own data shows

The Irish Government is failing to stop illegal turf cutting on supposedly protected bogs, it has been revealed.

A ban was introduced in 2011 but according to new information provided to the Irish Wildlife Trust by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the issue persists.

Ireland’s raised bogs are among Europe’s oldest natural ecosystem and date back more than 10,000 years.

They are protected under the EU Habitats Directive as they contain so many rare species and are vital carbon stores, which can help reduce carbon emissions if they remain intact.

Despite their status as special areas of conservation (SACs), official figures released to IWT following an appeal to the Information Commissioner estimate 330 plots were cut in 2022 and 290 in 2021.

IWT campaign officer Pádraic Fogarty said: “Raised bogs are a globally unique habitat that is endangered with extinction.

“When fully functioning they are powerhouses of carbon storage and sequestration, water purification and regulation and habitat to specially adapted species.

“However, our bogs are in dire condition and while some important restoration work is underway, not far from these sites the exact opposite is happening under the watchful eye of the State.”

Galway appears to be the most offending county, with Monivea, Cloonmoylan, Barroughter and Ardgraigue bogs being cut a combined 126 times in 2021 and 122 in 2022.

Incidents were also recorded in Kildare, Roscommon, Laois, Longford, Sligo and Mayo by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Ireland exported an estimated 500,000 tonnes of peat cut without planning permission in 2021 according to research by noteworthy.ie.

Mr Fogarty added: “The IWT is calling on Minister of State Malcolm Noonan, to stop being an onlooker in this destruction and to enforce the law.

“If people were walking out of the National Museum with priceless exhibits we’d expect them to be stopped, yet there is a general sense of impunity when it comes to destruction of our natural heritage because the State is refusing to intervene.

“Nearly four years since the Dáil declared a climate and a biodiversity emergency, it is time we saw some action before these bogs cease to be of conservation value.”

The issue is also on the European Commission’s radar.

It announced in 2022 it was renewing action against Ireland for failing to protect peatland SACs.

But Pádraic says they have been “slow to act” - while “irreparable damage continues to occur on the last of our ‘protected’ raised bogs”.