Friends of the Irish Environment conducted spot visits to 31 of the 55 raised bogs designated as SACs over the period 12 – 17 May and we were appalled by what we found. I think you will be too if you look at the Report.
There are more than 700 geo-tagged photos and maps online.
We provided the Report to the Commission last week as evidence to support our request for 'Interim Measures' and were working (still are) on some of the references and geo-tags when the Government released the copy we had sent them as a courtesy. We understand the issue was considered by Cabinet.
Interim Measures is like a Court Injunction but it has no power in national courts. While the Government speaks of daily fines, in fact the status is that Ireland has only received the first letter of Formal notice in the first Court proceedings. They are in the process of considering the next step, a Reasoned Opinion. Even if this goes ahead and ends in Court, Ireland will then have another two years before the Commission will take them back to Court for daily fines.
Interim Measures in themselves are not connected to the fine system or the current Court proceedings as the drafters of the Treaty did not think they would be faced with situations where members generally and structurally, failed to apply EU law. Ireland's behaviour represents a direct, persistent challenge to the rule of law in the EU.
SWAN members meet a wide range of officials and public representatives – it would be very useful if everyone had at least a brief look at the Report to see the scale of the problem.
Kind regards,
Tony
The Report is at:
http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.net/cmsfiles/files/library/fie_designated_raised_bogs_report_2011__final__25_may_2011.pdf
The supplementary photographs and maps are at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/114566506932046014907?authkey=Gv1sRgCOCNuNCpoe-fVQ
FRIENDS OF THE IRISH ENVIRONMENT
PRESS RELEASE
25 MAY 2011
REPORT SHOWS EXTENSIVE MACHINE CUTTING CONTINUES ON PROTECTED BOGS
SAVAGE DESTRUCTION ALLEGED
A Report published by Friends of the Irish Environment detailing recent spot visits to 18 of the protected raised bog where cutting was supposed to have ceased last year shows extensive machine cutting continues on 6 of them.
The sites include Cloonchambers, the bog where TD Luke Flanagan has said he will continue cutting turf.
In total, damage that will result in a further deterioration of Ireland's raised bogs conservation status – cutting, burning, draining, adjacent extraction - was photographed on 21 of the 31 designated raised bogs visited.
A spokesman said that: 'The raised bogs in Ireland are considered one of Europe's most treasured eco-systems, attracting the highest level of European protection under EU law. The reality is that these last remaining examples are being savagely destroyed by mechanical turf harvesting, for short-term gain, with no action being taken by the Government to enforce the restrictions.'
Ireland's 4th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, released on 14 May 2010, stated that 'It is estimated that there has been a 99% loss of the original area of actively growing raised bog in Ireland, and one-third of the remaining 1% has been lost in the last 10 years.'
FIE's, who have reported the activities to the European Commission, claims that 'Ireland's behaviour represents a direct, persistent challenge to the rule of law in the EU. To date, no effective action has been taken, either at the EU or national levels, to protect Ireland's peatlands, notwithstanding the designation for protection of raised and blanket bogs under the Habitats Directive, legal proceedings brought by the European Commission, and adverse judgments of the European Court of Justice [ECJ].
The group quotes an Irish Government Report from 2006 which recorded continued turf cutting on 117 of the 139 bogs listed for protection.
'The scale of the ongoing devastation is frightening. There are vast fields of turf spread by machine to dry, with turf bank faces more than 15 feet tall. Drains have been renewed and machinery was recorded working on these bogs right through a recent weekend.
A spokesman stressed that 'This has nothing to do with traditional hand cutting of turf, which is not seen to pose any threat to these bogs.'
The group undertook the visits to the 31 bogs in the period 12 – 17 May, 2011. It has links in the Report to more than 700 photographs with GPS coordinates and site maps.
Minister Jimmy Dennihan has responding by assuring the public that 'enforcement action would be taken where turf cutting has continued on these sites.' He concluded 'We cannot tolerate people breaking the law. Ireland has legal obligations to provide protection to these sites and this is what we must do."
ENDS
Further information: Tony Lowes 027 74771 / 087 217 6316
Copy of THE DESTRUCTION OF IRELAND'S PROTECTED RAISED BOGS can be accessed from the FIE online library
http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.net/cmsfiles/files/library/fie_designated_raised_bogs_report_2011__final__25_may_2011.pdf
Friends of the Irish Environment is a network of environmentalists formed 1n 1997 with a particular interest in the application of European Environmental law. Visit the extensive website, which includes an archive of more than 14,000 Irish environmental news reports.
