Having regard to available budgetary resources, priority is being given under the bog purchase scheme to those wishing to sell their interest in the 32 raised bog sites which were nominated for designation as Special Areas of Conservation in 1999. For these sites the ten year derogation given by the Government, which allowed the continuation of turf cutting for personal domestic use, has now expired.
The person in question owns land within a Natural Heritage Area designated in 2004, and the 10 year derogation period will not expire until 2014. Land transactions within this area, accordingly, do not qualify for priority attention at present.