Turf cutting on decommissioned bog in the Midlands called 'environmental vandalism'

Cut turf from a bog. Picture for illustration purposes

placeholder image — Cut turf from a bog. Picture for illustration purposes

Turf cutting has been called ‘environmental vandalism’ by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE), which has complained to Bord na Móna about the harvesting of peat on a Laois bog owned by the company.

However, the State-owned company insists that it does not licence turf cutting from any of its lands and says it is the responsibility of people with turbary rights on Bord na Móna lands to comply with current planning and/or environmental regulations.

FIE says it has writte to Bord na Mona reporting allegations of what is says are "continuing industrial extraction" on one of their bogs at Coolnacartan five miles south of Portlaoise

In the letter to Bord na Mona CEO Tom Donnellan, the organisation says it has asked the company to investigate reports of ongoing industrial cutting up to Friday, May 26, 2023.

FIE Director Tony Lowes said turf cutters must understand the cost of what they are doing.

"While it is fully understandable in the ongoing energy crisis and rising cost of living that people will be tempted to cut turf, if they understood the impact of their actions they would never do so. A day extracting turf is another day of flooding somewhere in the world," he said.

Bord na Móna issued a statement after FIE issued a press release.

"Following the High Court ruling in 2019 on peat extraction operations, Bord na Móna ceased all commercial peat harvesting on its lands and has now fully completed its transition from a traditional peat business to a climate solutions company. Since the 2019 ruling, Bord na Móna has no longer issued licences to commercial contractors or other licenced turf cutters to extract peat from any of its lands, including its Coolnacartan Bog in Co. Laois, and this remains the case today.

"To ensure all third parties were aware of the legal position after the 2019 ruling, public notices were issued widely and signage prohibiting turf cutting was erected on Bord na Móna lands, including the Coolnacartan Bog.

"The only parties who are permitted to cut turf on Bord na Móna lands are those who hold turbary rights to do so. Individuals with turbary rights on Bord na Móna lands still hold the same rights as before the High Court ruling in 2019, and 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," concluded the company.

FIE says it told Bord na Móna that recent research has shown that peat soils contain three times as much carbon as was previously understood. It claims that ths means that a 10-centimeter layer of peat – less than the length of a mobile phone - contains as much carbon per hectare as a tropical rainforest.’

According to FIE, a United Nations Global Peatlands Assessment 2022 recommends ensuring that any peat soils deeper than 10 centimeters be left undisturbed to act as a sink.