asked the Minister for Energy if he will set up an interdepartmental committee to look at the long term economic implications and requirements for the Midlands for the winding down of Bord na Móna and ESB activities thereat.
Written Answers. - Bord na Móna and ESB Activities.
40.
A consultancy review of Bord na Móna's operations including those located in the Midlands and supplying milled peat to the ESB power stations will shortly be carried out. The long term economic implications and requirements for this region can then be examined in the light of the findings of the study. By means of this study it is hoped to identify the measures necessary to restore the viability of Bord na Móna and to secure their future.
Last September I issued a statement relating to the Government decision to develop the Bord na Móna cutaway bogs for forestry purposes. That process has now begun and its momentum will increase in the coming years. It will ensure that replacement employment in forestry activities will now become available as peat production in the individual bogs approaches exhaustion.