Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 March 2017
426. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs her plans to put a preservation order in place to prevent the extraction of peat from the Moyne Bog, Coole, County Westmeath, at which an ancient road structure has been discovered. [11854/17]
View answerI am advised that my Department’s National Monuments Service considers that the prospect of preservation in situ of toghers (ancient trackways) that traverse an open working bog and that have been dissected along their length by approximately 45 open drains is severely limited. These ancient features only come to light during peat extraction. Once a bog has been drained to facilitate such extraction, the conditions that ensured the preservation of the wooden toghers are no longer present with the result that they will inevitably decay slowly over time.
Considering the nature of the toghers, the circumstances of their discovery, their already compromised condition, as well as the co-operation of the landowner, it is not evident that the conditions that would normally be considered appropriate to the making of a Preservation Order are present in this case. My Department will instead continue to focus its efforts on seeking detailed information on the toghers through appropriate methods of recording.
It is also the case that the toghers extend beyond the area currently being worked into an area of ‘high bog’ where significant elements may still be preserved. This area of ‘high bog’ is currently being examined as a more meaningful opportunity to attain preservation in situ.
