Turf row will escalate if ban extends to 28 more bogs

Fears that turf-cutting is about to be banned at an additional 28 bogs across the county are being expressed at a series of meetings across the county this week as plot owners wait anxiously to see if new designations are implemented by the Government from the start of next year.

The 28 Galway bogs, two of which are on the border with Co Roscommon, are among 75 across the State which have been designated as National Heritage Areas (NHAs) – sites where the previous Fianna Fail-led Government decided that cutting would be banned from January 2014.

Although the current Government is undertaking a review of the decision to “phase out” cutting at these bogs, originally taken in May 2010, alarm has been expressed that the dispute will escalate at a series meetings organised by the Irish Turf Cutters and Contractors Association (ITCCA) across the country since the start of last week.

Turf-cutting has already been banned at 53 raised bogs which are designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under European regulations since the start of last year, leading to showdowns between bog owners and the authorities at sites such as Barroughter, Clonmoylan, and Monivea in Co Galway over the past two summers.

Michael Fitzmaurice of the ITCCA said genuine fears had been expressed by plot owners during a series of meetings across Galway, Leitrim, and Roscommon over the past week.

Two more meetings have been planned for Ballygar tonight (Thursday, 8pm) and Abbeyknockmoy tomorrow night (9pm) to discuss issues relating to specific bogs.

Designated NHA bogs where cutting could yet be banned from next year include Moorfield, Ballygar, Bracklagh, Annaghbeg, Castle Ffrench, and Aughrim.

See full story – and list of bogs – in this week’s Connacht Tribune.