Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 25 Apr 1995

Vol. 451 No. 8

Written Answers. - County Offaly Visitors' Centre.

Brian Cowen

Question:

110 Mr. Cowen asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht when the Visitors' Centre for Clara Bog, County Offaly, will proceed; if funds will be made available for the project; the outstanding matters which need to be resolved; the criteria which will apply to enable an application for planning permission to proceed; and his views on the project proceeding. [7316/95]

Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht (Mr. M. Higgins)

A proposal to provide a visitor and study centre for Clara Bog is one of a list of projects which has been included in the current round of structural funds — 1994-1999. The total allocation for the project is £1.1 million.

The justification for providing a visitor and study centre for Clara Bog is that it is one of the best remaining raised bogs in the country and is of international importance for conservation. Approximately 440 hectares of this 665 hectare bog was acquired by the National Parks and Wildlife Service from Bord na Móna and it was established as a Nature Reserve in 1987, under the Wildlife Act, 1976.

However, the future conservation status of the bog is threatened by continued peat extraction from the area which remains in private ownership and by drainage on the bog margins. These activities are incompatible with the conservation of this habitat type, accelerating the drying out and shrinkage of the relatively intact, State-owned portion of the bog. If this is not halted, in time it will dry out all the wetter central parts of the bog and will result in the loss of its scientific interest.

There are a number of restoration and remedial measures which need to be undertaken in order to prevent the continued drying out of the bog. These include the construction of peat dams to retain rainwater and the blocking of surface drains to prevent excessive run-off. Blocking of surface drains on the Nature Reserve lands is proceeding at present. However, the success of the project is largely dependent on the surface drain blocking and, especially, the construction of peat dams proceeding on the lands at present in private ownership, which the National Parks and Wildlife Service are seeking to acquire.

The restoration of Clara Bog is included in a project to conserve a number of raised bogs in the Midlands. This project is being assisted by the European Union's Cohesion Fund and covers the period 1994-1999. However, it has not been possible to acquire the privately-owned lands at Clara as the prices being sought by landowners are substantially higher than those being sought in other areas. While the National Parks and Wildlife Service are willing to pay reasonable market prices for these landholdings, they are not prepared to offer "headline" prices for same. The EU have also stated that they will not permit EU funds to be used in this way.

I am instructing the National Parks and Wildlife Service to continue their efforts to acquire the necessary lands to enable the restoration project there to proceed. However, the lack of progress is making it increasingly unlikely that the restoration works required there can be completed within the timescale set for this project. In the meantime, the National Parks and Wildlife Service are succeeding in acquiring bogs elsewhere in the Midlands at market prices.

In these circumstances, it will become necessary for me to consider using the available restoration funds to conserve conservation-worthy raised bogs in other areas. If this proves to be necessary, there is little prospect of the proposed visitor and study centre project proceeding at Clara, as the justification for its provision — the conservation of Clara Bog — would not be assured.

I intend to keep this matter under review and to make a decision on the proposed project in the light of the progress made on the restoration of Clara Bog.