Leitrim County Council members have requested that Minister for Environment John Gormley “correct his statement that no bogs in Leitrim will be effected “ by the cessation of turf cutting on raised bogs.
Sinn Fein Cllr Martin Kenny read out corres
pondence from Minister John Gormley saying that “no bogs in Leitrim will be effected” by the phasing out of domestic turf cutting on designated raised bog Special Areas of Conservation and Natural Heritage Areas over the coming years.
The correspondence also said that the cessation has been delayed until 2014. Cllr Kenny said the Minister is incorrect in his statement as he believes nine bogs in North Leitrim will be effected by the new regulations.
Cllr Kenny requested a meeting with the Minster to reach a “compromise.” He said Minister Gormley’s interpretation of the EU directive is like a “stone wall” and he will not accept other interpretations.
Cllr John McTiernan said the Minister should be asked to correct his statement that no bogs in Leitrim will be effected. The members agreed to this.
Cllr Sean McDermott said he supported this motion and said the correspondence was very “hazy.” He said “north Leitrim is effected big time” by the directive. He said with the onset of the carbon tax - the Minister is “ruining rural Ireland.”
Cllr John Ward said the ban was “deplorable with the rising price of oil and fuel.” He said, “even in Penal times people were allowed to cut turf.” He said a strong letter of rejection should be sent. Cllr Siobhan McGloin said she attended a meeting on turf cutting in November and said people just want to “provide heat in their homes.”
Cllr Francie Gilmartin said the people of Leitrim have been “turf cutting fo the past 500 years, it is for their own use and they can’t be stopped.”
Cllr Tony Ferguson commented that by 2014 “Minister John Gormley may be cutting turf himself in Rathgar or Rathmines!”
