Turf cutters group rejects bog deal

The Turf Cutters' Association, which claims a 6,000 membership, has advised its members to reject any offer from the Government…

The Turf Cutters' Association, which claims a 6,000 membership, has advised its members to reject any offer from the Government to buy out raised bog or accept annual payments for not cutting turf.

Ms Síle O'Connor, of the association, said it rejected the right of the Irish Farmers' Association to speak for bog bank-owners or conclude a deal on their behalf.

She said the IFA appeared to have some form of deal with Dúchas, the heritage service, to pay €1,000 for an acre of raised bog and a €600 a year payment for not cutting turf.

"First of all, I have to say that the IFA have no right to negotiate such a deal because they do not represent the majority of people who own bog or cut turf on the bogs," she said.

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"And at a time when the price of oil is rising not only by the day but by the hour, the price which IFA attempted to put on bog is grossly out of line with all known facts," she added.

"We know from the annual reports of Bord na Móna that one acre of raised bog with an averaged depth of 15 metres represents 80 years of fuel for an extended household."

"Such an acre was estimated by Bord na Móna in their annual reports to be worth £128,000 per acre. Converted into euros this represents about €160,000," she said.

"Those landowners who wish to retain their land and accept an annual payment should note that it is not linked to the price of oil and they will have to bear the cost of changing to a different system. It should also be noted that the cost of registration of title must also be borne by the landowner."

Ms O'Connor said the thousands of people in Ireland who owned bog or bog banks did not need the IFA to put a price on bog. "There are other farm organisations and there are other organisations such as ourselves and we are calling on them to reject this deal.

"We were not consulted at all and we will not accept, as long as this country is supposed to be a democracy, that a group can claim to represent us by simply saying they are social partners and we are not," she said.

Ms O'Connor said pressure to negotiate such a deal was because of the EU habitats directive but this only required bogs be managed in a sustainable way.