Turf cutters set to take case to European Commissioner

TURF cutters are set to bypass the Government and take their case to the European Commissioner for the Environment in a bid to find a solution to a problem which could cost the state €20,000 a day in fines if it is not resolved.

In what has become a bitter row over protected boglands, the Turf Cutters and Contractors Association (TCCA) is preparing a report for Commissioner Janez Potocnik, and intends to bypass Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan, and bring their proposal straight to Europe.

According to TCCA spokesman, Luke Ming Flanagan, a very small number of turf cutters need an exemption from EU laws which state they cannot cut on raised bogs, which have been preserved as an area of special heritage. Offers made by the Government for recompense include relocating to another bog or an offer of free turf for three or four years.

“Relocation is not acceptable to some because it means round trips of about 100km. How is that preserving the environment? The offer of free turf is not acceptable to some, as there is no guarantee of how long it will last,” Mr Flanagan said, adding that an exemption on very small areas of the protected bogs will be necessary to appease some landowners.

“Of the 55 protected bogs, we are talking about seven or eight where turf will need to be cut. And of that we are talking about 150 acres out of 3,000, that is 2%-3% of the land, and that’ll do for 300 years.”

The TCCA is travelling around to each of the areas affected by the 55 bogs and putting together a plan which would allow conservation and turf cutting to go hand in hand.

“We have at this stage held meetings which have led to consultation with almost 90% of the people affected by this ban. We will continue over the next three weeks to meet with the remaining turf cutters. When that is done we will compile our plan and present it to the EU Environment Commissioner.

“The plan will contain the three elements which we were promised would be done by the current government: relocation, compensation and, in cases where this is not possible, de-designation or part de-designation of the bog complexes in question.”

According to Mr Flanagan, the habitat directive which governs the new laws on turf cutting states that, if it has a social impact on lives or puts unnecessary expense on people, then exemptions can be made.