Saturday, February 11, 2012
Angry constituents of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Minister Jimmy Deenihan are due to protest again outside his office in Listowel, Co Kerry today against the ban on turf-cutting.
Up to 40 families want Mr Deenihan to lift the ban on turf-cutting in the nearby Moanveanlagh bog.
An EU directive is to end turf-cutting on 53 bogs designated Special Areas of Conservation, including several in Roscommon, Galway and Offaly.
The Listowel turf-cutters say they will picket Mr Deenihan’s office every Saturday between 11.30am and 1pm until March 7, the day the EU ban comes into effect. Michael Looney, spokesman for the Kerry Turf Cutters and Contractors’ Association, said they were not prepared to accept an offer from Mr Deenihan’s department to relocate to non-SAC bogs in the area.
"We have several hundred acres of bog in pristine condition and all of us are living within a kilometre of the bog, where our families have been cutting turf for generations. If we start bringing in turf from other bogs it would defeat the whole purpose," he said.
Mr Looney said they intend to continue cutting turf and will join turf-cutters from around the country in a protest outside Leinster House on March 7. But he said they are still willing to talk to Mr Deenihan.
Mr Deenihan said his department had signed contracts with individuals in Galway and Offaly to move to un-designated bogs. Funding had been secured to facilitate relocation.
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