Fitzmaurice accuses Bord na Móna of ‘betraying ordinary people’ on turf cutting

Bord na Móna says people with turbary rights can 'continue' to cut turf on its bogs but licensed activity is now 'illegal’

Turf footed on a bog in Co. Westmeath. Photo: Frank McGrath

Claire Mc Cormack

March 16 2021 09:45 PM

Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice has accused Bord na Móna (BNM) of “betraying ordinary people” in what the TD has described as the semi-state company’s latest move “to prevent turf cutting” going ahead this harvest season.

The deputy levelled criticism at BNM following the company’s move to outline the state-of-play for turf cutting on BNM bogs in light of a 2019 High Court ruling that peat operations on bogs over 30ha now requires planning permission; and due to the company’s decision to cease its peat extraction activities earlier this year.

While BNM says “80pc” of people who cut turf on its bogs can “continue to do so” as they have “turbary rights”, the company also confirmed that it will not issue licences to commercial contractors, or other licensed turf cutters, that cut turf for people who have taken plots on their bogs for many years.

In a statement deputy Fitzmaurice claimed that the semi-state company is being “totally disingenuous”.

“BNM says 80pc of people won’t be affected as a result of having turbary rights – but the reality of the situation is that has nothing to do with it.

“If you look at the bogs affected, up to 4,000 households in the midlands will be left high and dry by BNM’s decision. These are loyal, ordinary people who take a plot of turf in order to heat their homes in the winter.

“That is being ripped from their grasp. The timing of this looming announcement is yet another indicator of BNM’s disdain for these ordinary people – many of whom are elderly – with the turf cutting season set to start in the next two weeks.

“BNM’s spin doctors are trying to make light of the number of people who will be impacted by this move.

“Many of these people who take plots of turf depend on it as their only source of fuel to heat their homes. They cannot be left to hang out to dry, just because they don’t have a turbary right.

“Everyone is talking about a ‘just transition’ since BNM started pushing their ‘brown-to-green’ agenda. But since they were handed over €100m, it is clear that all BNM and Tom Donnellan are interested in is turning their backs on the cultures and traditions from which the company originally grew.

“Are the deputies from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael – representing constituencies such as Longford-Westmeath, Laois-Offaly, Tipperary, Meath west, Kildare north and Kildare south – going to allow their parties stand idly by while BNM treats their constituents like this?

“People across parts of Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, Tipperary, Laois, Kildare and Meath will feel the brunt of this decision,” the deputy said.

‘Legal reasoning’

The Roscommon-Galway representative – who is also the chairman of the Turf Cutters and Contractors Association – called on Government “to step in” and prevent ordinary people from being left without fuel for their fire.

“BNM is deciding to hide behind legal reasoning for this decision. I have spoken today with BNM personnel and have challenged them to provide me with this legal reasoning – as it is clearly stated that you do not require planning permission for bogs under 30ha – which most of the bogs in question at the moment are.

“The area where turf will be spread will represent just half a percent of BNM’s total land mass.

“I am calling for BNM officials to have a conversation with me publicly over the systems they have run in recent years, even though the same case law was in place then as now.

“But people need to be prepared to stand up for their rights to cut turf. These people do not need to look deep into the past either for inspiration. People were prepared to stand up for their rights then, and now should be no different.

“This Government must be willing to intervene and stand alongside these people, otherwise they will be abandoning them yet again,” he concluded.

According to figures, obtained from Bord na Móna, an estimated 1,600 people have turbary rights to cut turf on BNM bogs, an estimated 300 people have licences to cut turf on BNM bogs, while approximately 20 private contractors are issued with licences from BNM to cut turf on its bogs.

Turf cutting is carried out on less than 1pc of BNM’s total 200,000ac land bank.

When asked for clarity on turf cutting where people do not have turbary rights, and where a private contractor is brought in to cut the turf, a BNM spokesperson said such individuals would be considered “licensees” and that such “licensed turf cutting activity is prohibited by the High Court ruling”.

When asked whether turf cutting can continue on BNM bogs that are less than 30ha in scale, the spokesperson said that, based on legal advice, it is BNM’s view that “all operational bogs are taken as one unit, not individual pieces of bogs – it is viewed as a single block”.

Public notice

In a statement BNM’s outlined its full position: “Bord na Móna owns approximately 7pc of Irish peatlands. In the past, nearly all of the formerly operational bogs were involved with milling peat, mainly for combustion in power stations. In recent years, turf cut on Bord na Móna lands accounted for just 5pc of the turf supply in Ireland.

"In 2019 the High Court ruled that peat extraction operations, on bogs over 30ha, requires planning permission. Following the company’s decision to cease peat extraction, we are communicating to interested parties to confirm the current position and to specifically note that:

"People with turbary rights on Bord na Móna lands account for over 80pc of the people who have cut turf on our lands.

"The company wishes to reassure people that anyone with a turbary right continues to enjoy the same property rights as before the High Court ruling. As before, it remains the responsibility of turbary rights holders to ensure that their activities are not in contravention of any current planning and/or environmental regulations.

"Since the 2019 High Court ruling, Bord na Móna has not issued licences to commercial contractors or other licensed turf cutters. This remains the situation.

"Unauthorised turf cutting on Bord na Móna lands has always been and remains an illegal activity,” the statement concluded.

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