I raise an issue concerning Ardgraigue, Barroughter and Clonmoylan bogs in County Galway. People who signed up to the restoration scheme and received a payment were promised an alternative bog but have received nothing. The payment for them has stopped and they still have nowhere to cut turf during a fuel cost crisis.

A second issue is that the families who chose not to sign up to the scheme, but have been prevented from cutting turf because of a High Court injunction sought by the Department against a turf-cutting contractor in the area, have been cut off from a vital source of fuel. This is the critical time of year when turf must be harvested and dried before winter. If they miss this window they are facing into a winter without adequate heating in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. That is simply unacceptable when people are already struggling with soaring energy bills. These families were repeatedly told that habitat restoration schemes were voluntary, yet they now feel they are being forced into surrendering their rights through legal pressure and injunctions. They did not accept once-off payments because they wanted to retain the ability to continue cutting turf. Their rights have been denied.

These are families, many of them elderly, who rely on turf as their primary source of heating. The Government has used the resources and might of the State against vulnerable older people.

They have been coerced and bullied. They are people who are simply trying to heat their homes.

I hoped the Minister would be here and I am really disappointed he is not.

Serious concerns are being raised by these families regarding the designation process surrounding these bogs and whether the statutory instruments complied with the timelines set out in Article 4(4) of the habitats directive. The article clearly states that sites must be designated "within six years at most", yet the statutory instruments for these bogs were not signed until 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively, despite the sites being identified in 1997. The families believe there is a legitimate question as to whether the process complied with the required legal timelines. I believe the Government knows that but is simply putting the issue off because it does not think these people would have the resources or the time to take it to court.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service has failed these people. Families in the area who signed up and took the payment were misled and, in my opinion, conned. They were promised an alternative turf bank and they have received nothing. Families who did not sign up have been forcibly stopped from cutting turf. It is voluntary on the outside but mandatory by design.

There is a resolution. With the stroke of a pen, this matter could be resolved. The Minister could lift the injunction, allow these families to cut their turf through the activities requiring consent, ARC, process and show that the Government understands the reality facing ordinary people during a cost-of-living crisis. The fact that the Minister has basically ignored all correspondence in relation to this matter is worrying. I ask him to sign an ARC and ensure an alternative bog is provided, as promised, for the people who signed up for the scheme.

It is important that Seanadóirí are informed if the line Minister cannot attend.

If I may, I understand the Minister and Minister of State have never answered questions on this issue. The response to any parliamentary questions I have submitted has been to send me a book guideline.

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I am happy to take this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan. It gives us an opportunity to discuss the three bogs the Senator referred to in the special areas of conservation, SACs, in County Galway. I reaffirm our commitment to protecting Ireland's valuable peatlands and working with all stakeholders.

There is no question that peatlands are of cultural, economic and ecological importance to Ireland and are profoundly significant for our communities and history. They are a cornerstone of many communities, a source of heating, a way of passing on knowledge and a deeply held right for many families.

The EU habitats directive requires member states to select sites for the protection of habitats that are considered threatened, including active raised bogs which are considered to be in danger of disappearing within the EU territory. Ireland has selected 63 sites for the protection of active raised bog habitats, including Ardgraigue, Barroughter and Clonmoylan bogs, and designated these bogs as special areas of conservation. This protects approximately 9% of our original raised bog resource.

Ireland, like all EU member states, is bound in law by the requirements of the EU habitats directive, which is designed to ensure the protection of certain habitats and species within sites designated as SACs and which are considered threatened in the EU. The sites chosen for designation under the directive are those which are significant from a conservation perspective, not just at a national but also at a European level.

The Government adopted a clear long-term strategy to protect these sites. As far back as 1999, the Government announced arrangements for the cessation of turf-cutting on raised bogs special areas of conservation and a compensation package, including for the three bogs in the Galway SAC. It also announced that commercial turf-cutting would cease on certain SACs and a ten-year derogation was given for domestic turf-cutting. At the end of this derogation, following extensive stakeholder consultation, the cessation of turf-cutting compensation scheme was launched in 2011. The scheme was advertised again in 2024, closing to new applicants in 2025.

The scheme is comprised of a payment of €1,500 per annum, index-linked and tax free, for 15 years or relocation, where feasible, to a non-designated bog, together with a once-off legal agreement payment of €500. While applicants were waiting for relocation sites to be investigated, they could have opted for an annual payment or opted to receive an annual supply of up to 15 tonnes of cut turf delivered to their homes.

Under the compensation scheme, €8.9 million has been paid to date to 370 eligible applicants from the three bogs in question. On average, each eligible turf-cutter across these bogs has received a payment of €24,085, exempt from capital gains tax. Over €760,000 has been paid for the purchase of lands and turbary rights on Barroughter and Clonmoylan bog SACs under the voluntary bog purchase scheme. The estimated cost for the provision of payments over the lifetime of the 15-year scheme is in the region of €96 million. This is a significant support by the State to the peatland community and has helped to ensure the conservation of important peatland sites of unique ecological value.

With regard to restoration on these SACs, the first phase of restoration works on Ardgraigue bog was completed in February 2025, with phase 2, scheduled for later this year, currently at planning stage and subject to landowner consent. Restoration works on Clonmoylan bog SAC are at an earlier stage of development and restoration works at Barroughter bog are also currently at planning stage, with an initial phase of works anticipated in late 2026 or early 2027.

I appreciate the Minister of State's reply but the central issue remains unresolved. The turf-cutting season is happening now. Every passing week makes it less likely that turf will be saved in time for winter. If this injunction remains in place, these families will face cold homes and unaffordable heating costs. It is their only means of heating their homes. I have people in their 80s writing to me.

The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, did not address the people who did not sign up to the scheme. He spoke the entire time about the people who signed up to the scheme but he did not mention the people who did not. It was supposed to be a voluntary scheme but, by design, it was mandatory. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, has options available to him. He can return to the High Court and lift the injunction or he can use the ARC process to allow turf-cutting activities to proceed lawfully. People in Galway are made to believe it was their choice if they participated in the restoration scheme and now they have been cut off from accessing turf.

I want to make a complaint about the fact that neither the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, nor the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, will address this. The latter has not come before the Seanad to address this issue and he has not answered parliamentary questions either. That has to be addressed.

It is still the case, obviously, that SACs are legally protected under European legislation. The cutting of turf and any associated works remain a regulated activity on these bogs.

I assure the Senator that every effort is being made to support individuals who have ceased turf-cutting on these protected bogs. The cessation of turf-cutting compensation scheme has operated successfully for 15 years, paying out €86 million to date in compensation to over 3,500 turf-cutters cross the country. This scheme has provided families with index-linked annual payments exempt from capital gains tax and relocation options, where feasible. The majority of turf-cutters on the network of raised bog SACs have accepted compensation and others consented to restoration works under the protected raised bog restoration incentive scheme.

Department officials are considering a new phase of support for scheme applicants and will continue to strike the balance between the need to support people and our obligations to protect our valuable peatland areas.