I propose to take Questions Nos. 170 and 175 together.
Turf cutting is regulated through various statutory regimes including planning, licensing and Ministerial consent. A guidance document ‘The Regulatory Framework Applying to Peat Extraction’ (available on www.gov.ie) commissioned by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) addresses the differing regulatory requirements which apply to peat extraction at specific thresholds at the time of its publication (January, 2022).
Peat extraction, other than existing authorised developments and activities, is controlled generally through the provisions of the Planning and Development Acts. For large scale activities (activities involving in excess of 50 hectares) a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is also required.
Under Birds and Natural Habitats Regulation 2011 and Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000 it is a criminal offence subject to prosecution to carry out turf cutting on a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) or a Natural Heritage Area (NHA) without the consent of the Minister.
In circumstances in which turf cutting is restricted on lands designated (for nearly a quarter of a century) as SACs under the Habitats Directive or a NHA under the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000, my Department has introduced compensation and voluntary land purchase schemes in which a person may apply, subject to eligibility. Payments made under the Cessation of Turf Cutting Compensation Scheme by my Department total €88 million since 2011.
The NPWS monitors SACs and NHAs where the requirement to cease turf cutting applies, through a combination of aerial flyover and site visits. Enforcement and compliance actions which the NPWS have taken in respect of unlawful activities, including relating to peat extraction and associated activities, on SACs and NHAs include (inter alia):
• Prosecutions of criminal offences under the 2011 Regulations relating to unlawful peat extraction
• Restoration orders made under the 2011 Regulations relating to damaging activities
• letters to landowners and turbary rights holders on protected sites.
• Engaging in programmes of monitoring (both ground and aerial) for the detection and prevention of unlawful peat extraction.
• Taking of civil actions against individuals.
• Regulation of activities through Ministerial consents.
• Cross-compliance reporting to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
• Defending Ireland's position at the EU Court of Justice on enfringement proceedings taken on the Habitats Directive, involving, inter alia, protected peatlands' cutting.
The detailed information sought on enforcement actions and in the format requested is not held centrally in my Department.
Enforcement of planning legislation and the EPA Act is a matter for the planning authorities and the EPA respectively. Court judgements are a matter of public record.
The regulations and restrictions of turf-cutting on protected peatlands is to ensure compliance with Ireland's legal obligations under the Habitats Directive to protect and restore such sites. The State is addressing the needs of turf cutters through compensation schemes and other initiatives whilst recognising that these needs must be balanced with the legal obligations of the State.
