Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 19 Oct 2000

Vol. 524 No. 4

Written Answers. - Cutaway Bogs.

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

48 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the total acreage of cutaway bog now held by Bord na Móna; the total acreage expected to become available over the next 20 years; the plans the Government has for the future of this valuable resource; the progress made in implementing the recommendations of the 1991 report of the expert committee on the future use of Bord na Móna cutaway bog; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22565/00]

Minister for Public Enterprise (Mrs. O'Rourke)

Bord na Móna now hold over 14,000 acres of cutaway bog. It is estimated that between 86,000 and 100,000 acres will become available over the next 20 years.

The Government is satisfied that the diverse uses to which Bord na Móna has put available cutaway to date, that is, grassland, forestry and wetland, is the right approach for the future development of the cutaway bogs with both commercial and amenity uses being catered for.

The key recommendations from the 1991 report of the expert committee on the future uses of Bord na Móna cutaway were that research should continue into the afforestation of the cutaways and that the ecological processes that underpin the development of wetlands on cutaway should be researched.

In May 1998, the Government launched a new forestry research programme, BOGFOR, to seek ways to improve existing afforestation and to maximise the productivity of future crops. This collaborative research programme is funded by the forest service, Coillte, and Bord na Móna and managed by the forestry ecosystem research group in University College, Dublin. This programme has now completed almost three years work successfully but obviously because of the slow nature of forestry no definitive conclusions can be reached as yet.

Over the past decade Bord na Móna have, with the support of EU structural funding, developed 3,000 acres of wetlands which include over 60 acres of deep angling lakes. The wetland developments have occurred mainly in County Offaly at the Boora parklands. This development includes angling lakes stocked with coarse fish, bird hides and walking routes and has won international and national acclaim.

It has recently come to my attention that a further area of potential development on cutaway bogs would be the exploitation of underlying sand and gravel deposits. Bord na Móna is currently assessing the opportunities for development in this area.