Sir, – I agree with Paddy Woodworth (Opinion, August 2nd) that the bitter dispute over raised bogs has gone on too long, but I doubt if he is fully aware as to the reasons for this. I am more than 10 years trying to communicate with the NPWS (National Parks and Wildlife Services) formerly Dúchas, the body which implements national and EU legislation in this area. Despite numerous attempts to engage with it during this period (including letters addressed directly to the principal officer of NPWS, the last of which was dated February 24th, 2012) I have not received any correspondence to date or indeed any response to my queries.
The bog that I am associated with is a bog in Co Longford which consists of 215 hectares, 39 per cent of which is bog and the remaining 61 per cent consisting of the grassland surrounding the bog. A crucial element that most of the media fails to either understand or report is the effect the EU directive has on grassland adjoining the bogs. Farmers have a right to farm this land as their families have done for centuries. In my own position, the EU legislation gives the NPWS control over the management of 48 per cent of the grassland on my farm and a higher percentage for some of my neighbours. This has resulted in nearly halving the land available to me for winter fodder, not to mention the effect this has on the value of my land.
I have turbary rights to approximately 75 per cent of the bog referred to above and yet the NPWS will not engage with me, a significant stakeholder. This leads to the question, who are the NPWS communicating with? According to the notes from the Dáil Eireann Private Members’ Business dated March 6th, 2012, “the manner in which Natura 2000 (EU wide network of nature protection areas) will be implemented is very important – the involvement of the owner of private land is crucial”.
I have refrained, along with my neighbours, from cutting turf for the past two years as we were expecting a settlement could be reached. We have now lost all hope and do intend to cut our turf in our bog next year as we and our forefathers have done for centuries. We and our forefathers have preserved these raised bogs down the centuries. The damage to the raised bogs in Ireland is mainly due to the activities of Bord na Móna and commercial peat producers and not the farmers cutting turf for domestic consumption.
The only people that I am aware of applying for the compensation available are those individuals who only have turbary rights and not those who also own grasslands surrounding a bog. Is it fair that a person who only owns turbary rights to one quarter of an acre of bog or less is entitled to receive the same compensation as a farmer with turbary rights for 100 acres and also 50 acres of grassland? Sympathy for the “diehards” is not much good when your livelihood is being taken from you. – Yours, etc,
JOHN O’BEIRNE,
Clooneen,
Dromod, Co Leitrim.