The Government has injected a further £51 million into Bord na Mona. The money brings to £100 million the total amount invested in the semistate by successive governments since 1995. The move restores the company's financial viability and removes its debt burden which was once deemed "unsustainable" in a report by independent consultants.

Announcing the cash injection yesterday, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, said the company was now on a sound financial footing to meet the challenges of the next millennium.

However, she stressed that the investment was not a free gift. "One of the strict conditions attaching to the equity injection is that Bord an Mona reduce its price of milled peat sold to the ESB, thus providing a saving of about £18 million a year," she said.

Mrs O'Rourke also said she would shortly be publishing the text of a new Turf Development Bill. She said it would be the most important piece of legislation affecting Bord na Mona since its founding Act was passed in 1946.

"The purpose of the Bill is to reconstitute Bord na Mona as a public limited company and to provide it with the necessary commercial flexibilities required by a modern company operating in highly competitive markets," she said.