Vol. 377 No. 2
asked the Minister for Energy the number of acres of cutaway bog which have been transferred from Bord na Móna to the Forestry section of his Department; if the management of Bord na Móna approved of the transfer; the reason the transfer was made; the Government's long term plans for the use of cutaway bogs; the role the Government envisages for Bord na Móna in this; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
23.
asked the Minister for Energy the assessment he carried out before transferring cutaway bog from Bord na Móna to his own Department for forestry development; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose taking Questions Nos. 18 and 23 together.
The general consensus reached by the interdepartmental committee which was set up in 1977 to examine and assess possible uses for Bord na Móna's cutaway bogs and which concluded its work in 1986 was that forestry was the optimum solution for up to 60 per cent of the lands in question.
In a statement issued by my colleague, the Minister of State for Forestry on 25 September 1987, it was pointed out that with a view to ensuring an expanding programme of forestry development, the Government have decided that the Bord na Móna cutaway bogs which are suitable for forestry will be transferred to the Forestry Service of the Department of Energy. This decision applied to the cutaway lands which are at present available for planting and also to those areas which will become available in the future as Bord na Móna bogs are exhausted for turf production purposes. It was also indicated that in their consideration of this matter, the Government were conscious of the fact that the peat potential of these bogs is a wasting asset and that this has serious employment implications for the midlands and other areas in which Bord na Móna operates. The Government decision will ensure that replacement employment in forestry activities will now become available as peat production in the individual bogs approaches exhaustion. As would be expected, the management of Bord na Móna have accepted the Government's decision in this matter.
Two thousand four hundred and seventy-two acres of cutaway for the 1988 planting season are now in the hands of the Forestry Service and arrangements have been made for the identification of additional lands to be transferred in future years.
