Turbary Rights
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-14
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John Cummins (FG), Waterford

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I am happy to take this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan. It gives us an opportunity to discuss the three bogs the Senator referred to in the special areas of conservation, SACs, in County Galway. I reaffirm our commitment to protecting Ireland's valuable peatlands and working with all stakeholders.
There is no question that peatlands are of cultural, economic and ecological importance to Ireland and are profoundly significant for our communities and history. They are a cornerstone of many communities, a source of heating, a way of passing on knowledge and a deeply held right for many families.
The EU habitats directive requires member states to select sites for the protection of habitats that are considered threatened, including active raised bogs which are considered to be in danger of disappearing within the EU territory. Ireland has selected 63 sites for the protection of active raised bog habitats, including Ardgraigue, Barroughter and Clonmoylan bogs, and designated these bogs as special areas of conservation. This protects approximately 9% of our original raised bog resource.
Ireland, like all EU member states, is bound in law by the requirements of the EU habitats directive, which is designed to ensure the protection of certain habitats and species within sites designated as SACs and which are considered threatened in the EU. The sites chosen for designation under the directive are those which are significant from a conservation perspective, not just at a national but also at a European level.
The Government adopted a clear long-term strategy to protect these sites. As far back as 1999, the Government announced arrangements for the cessation of turf-cutting on raised bogs special areas of conservation and a compensation package, including for the three bogs in the Galway SAC. It also announced that commercial turf-cutting would cease on certain SACs and a ten-year derogation was given for domestic turf-cutting. At the end of this derogation, following extensive stakeholder consultation, the cessation of turf-cutting compensation scheme was launched in 2011. The scheme was advertised again in 2024, closing to new applicants in 2025.
The scheme is comprised of a payment of €1,500 per annum, index-linked and tax free, for 15 years or relocation, where feasible, to a non-designated bog, together with a once-off legal agreement payment of €500. While applicants were waiting for relocation sites to be investigated, they could have opted for an annual payment or opted to receive an annual supply of up to 15 tonnes of cut turf delivered to their homes.
Under the compensation scheme, €8.9 million has been paid to date to 370 eligible applicants from the three bogs in question. On average, each eligible turf-cutter across these bogs has received a payment of €24,085, exempt from capital gains tax. Over €760,000 has been paid for the purchase of lands and turbary rights on Barroughter and Clonmoylan bog SACs under the voluntary bog purchase scheme. The estimated cost for the provision of payments over the lifetime of the 15-year scheme is in the region of €96 million. This is a significant support by the State to the peatland community and has helped to ensure the conservation of important peatland sites of unique ecological value.
With regard to restoration on these SACs, the first phase of restoration works on Ardgraigue bog was completed in February 2025, with phase 2, scheduled for later this year, currently at planning stage and subject to landowner consent. Restoration works on Clonmoylan bog SAC are at an earlier stage of development and restoration works at Barroughter bog are also currently at planning stage, with an initial phase of works anticipated in late 2026 or early 2027.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:57+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-14