asked the Minister for Energy if he and Bord na Móna have yet taken any policy decision on the future use of the vast quantities of cutaway bogs held by the board; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Cutaway Bogs.
3.
An interdepartmental committee on cutaway bogs is in existence whose brief is the investigation of possible future uses of Bord na Móna cutaway bogs in order to facilitate a decision as to how best to use this resource in the national interest.
The draft final report of the committee is still undergoing amendment but I hope to be in a position to review it in the near future.
When was the interdepartmental committee set up? When does the Minister expect a final decision on the report?
The interdepartmental committee was set up in 1977. An interim report was received in 1979 and I expect the final report will be received in a matter of months.
Will the Minister give his personal views on the vast quantity of cutaway bogs which are lying unused? Will he tell the House if Bord na Móna have had any success in their pilot schemes on horticultural development in relation to these cutaway bogs?
I would be a little premature if I were to give at this stage my personal views on cutaway bogs, important as they might be to Deputy Reynolds. One of the options I favour is forestry but that is not seen as the most economic prospect for cutaway bogs. As I said, any personal views I might mention might be previous to the report. The report, when published will be of interest to this House and to the many people interested in cutaway bogs, both the horticultural and forestry sectors. When the report is published, a discussion should take place in this House. This would be of enormous value because in the medium term we will have a natural resource which we would do well to evaluate and to bring to the development stage. I would have no hesitation in having a discussion on the report in this House at the earliest possible opportunity.
What is the acreage of cutaway bogs that is and will become available before the end of the decade? I am glad the Minister and I at least agree on something, because we are thinking in the same direction as regards the proper use of cutaway bogs for forestry. Will he agree that the sooner this problem is tackled the better. Will he also agree that Bord na Móna will have to remain the landlord — that dirty word in Irish society — of the bogs because of the drainage problems that would arise if the bogs are given willy-nilly to farmers or anybody else?
By 1990 there will be about 10,00 acres of cutaway bogs available for development and it is believed that figure will double, at least, by the end of the century. The cut-away bogs consist of a wide variety and complexity of peat types, peat depth, sub-soil type and degree of drainage which would have a major bearing on future uses. It is likely there will be different solutions for different areas, and I am sure the Deputy understands that well. I would say — and this is a matter I have neither studied nor gone into in depth — that it would be most likely that in the long term Bord na Móna would continue as at present, primarily because of the drainage involved and the manner in which they have carried out their responsibilities on behalf of the State down the years. I see Bord na Móna having a major role to play in the development of cutaway bogs.