Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan has threatened to prosecute turf-cutters who have breached EU regulations by cutting turf on 31 protected bogs.
Mr Deenihan has also warned that farmers who are found to have cut turf illegally on the 31 Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) could suffer through the reduction of payments due under other schemes.
Mr Deenihan said he had directed his officials to investigate illegal turf-cutting by contractors or individuals who may have breached the restrictions applying to the 31 SACs. He said prosecutions would be pursued "where appropriate".
He welcomed the fact that no turf-cutting had taken place on the majority of the affected bogs but said cutting had been detected on a number of sites.
However, the spokesman for the turf-cutters, Roscommon Independent TD Luke Flanagan, said alternative bogs would have to be found before people were "driven off land" and threatened with legal action.
He accused successive governments of incompetence for failing to put in place a management plan that would make it possible for turf-cutting and conversation on the bogs to go "hand-in-hand".
Mr Flanagan also claimed Fine Gael had changed its position on the issue since the general election campaign.
Mr Deenihan, speaking on RTE Radio, said Mr Flanagan was clearly advising people to break the law. "Lawmakers could not be lawbreakers," he said.
Mr Flanagan said he would ensure that people did not "go cold" this winter.
The Minister briefed the Cabinet yesterday on the implementation of the restrictions, which were introduced for environmental reasons in May 2010 and confirmed by the new Government last April.
Shortly after it was elected, the Government put in place a compensation scheme for affected landowners and people with turbary rights. They can qualify for compensation of up to €1,000 a year for 15 years, and move their cutting to other bogs which are not SACs. A Peatlands Council has also been established.
Mr Deenihan said the Government could not tolerate people breaking the law. "Ireland has legal obligations to provide protection to these sites and this is what we must do. Further damage to these sites risks Ireland being brought to task in the European Court of Justice and may result in substantial fines against us. This is something the country simply cannot afford."
"We must also demonstrate to the majority who have ceased cutting that their good citizenship will not be undermined by those who wish to break the law.
The penalties for illegal turf-cutting include fines of up to €1,500 and the imposition of the costs of remedying the bog.
The European Commission has warned the Government it could face penalties of tens of millions of euro plus fines of more than €20,000 per day unless it takes steps to end turf-cutting in the protected peatland habitats.
