The cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme, administered by my Department, is comprised of a payment of €1,500 per annum, index-linked, for 15 years, or relocation, where feasible, to a non-designated bog, together with a once-off incentive payment of €500. 3,134 applications have been received under this scheme for designated raised bog special areas of conservation. The scheme has been extended to land owners and turbary right holders affected by the curtailment of turf cutting in designated raised bog natural heritage areas. 216 applications have been received from applicants from these sites.
The qualifying criteria for the scheme are that:
- The claimant must have a legal interest in one of the raised bog special areas of conservation or natural heritage areas – ownership or turbary right;
- The claimant must have been the owner or entitled to exercise turbary rights on the land in question on 25 May 2010;
- The turbary on the site must not be exhausted;
- The claimant must have been cutting turf on the land in question during the relevant five year period; and
- No turf cutting or associated activity is ongoing on the property.
The cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme is designed specifically for those who had been cutting turf on the raised bog protected sites prior to the cessation.