Danny Healy-Rae criticises turf restrictions, cites briquette imports
Danny Healy-Rae criticised government policy that restricts turf cutting, arguing household turf use is traditional, necessary and wrongly targeted while briquettes and turf are imported. He highlighted rising electricity costs since Borna Mora closed and questioned land designations that he says left farmers uncompensated and their holdings devalued.
Danny Healy-Rae told witnesses he was sorry policymakers had decided to stop Irish men and women from cutting turf, calling the policy hurtful to people who traditionally cut for their own fires. He said some households buy briquettes from Lithuania and turf from Germany, and argued that small-scale domestic cutting does no harm and is rooted in family practice going back to 1800.
The deputy linked the issue to wider energy concerns, saying electricity costs have risen since Borna Mora was closed and that government control and regulation appear lacking. He also noted that even if the country reduced emissions dramatically it would be a very small share of the global total - "only make 0.013 of 1% in the worldwide context" - a point he used to question the fairness of current restrictions.
He expressed regret at claims Ireland is under-designated and said farmers instead feel over-designated, citing an example he called Heen Harrier. He said farmers were promised compensation when designations took place but that there has been no follow-through and that designated lands are now worth "a pittance" compared with their previous value.
An official interrupted to clarify the debate was not about lawful household turf cutting but about large-scale peat operations. The official said the issue concerns huge operations with large machinery, most peat going for export and use in the horticultural industry across Europe, Asia and South Africa, and noted enforcement by local authorities and the EPA when turf is bought illegally for domestic burning.
Danny Healy-Rae asked why briquettes and turf are imported if domestic cutting is restricted and blamed policymakers for directing officials to take this work. He also raised concerns about local authorities and water management, and argued farmers are often wrongly targeted. In reply an official said the state's role is to ensure such products are provided lawfully if the market requires them.
Main complaint about turf restrictions
Danny Healy-Rae told witnesses he was sorry policymakers had decided to stop Irish men and women from cutting turf, calling the policy hurtful to people who traditionally cut for their own fires. He said some households buy briquettes from Lithuania and turf from Germany, and argued that small-scale domestic cutting does no harm and is rooted in family practice going back to 1800.
Energy costs and global impact
The deputy linked the issue to wider energy concerns, saying electricity costs have risen since Borna Mora was closed and that government control and regulation appear lacking. He also noted that even if the country reduced emissions dramatically it would be a very small share of the global total - "only make 0.013 of 1% in the worldwide context" - a point he used to question the fairness of current restrictions.
Designation and farmers' compensation
He expressed regret at claims Ireland is under-designated and said farmers instead feel over-designated, citing an example he called Heen Harrier. He said farmers were promised compensation when designations took place but that there has been no follow-through and that designated lands are now worth "a pittance" compared with their previous value.
Officials' clarification on scale of operations
An official interrupted to clarify the debate was not about lawful household turf cutting but about large-scale peat operations. The official said the issue concerns huge operations with large machinery, most peat going for export and use in the horticultural industry across Europe, Asia and South Africa, and noted enforcement by local authorities and the EPA when turf is bought illegally for domestic burning.
Questions on import-export fairness and enforcement
Danny Healy-Rae asked why briquettes and turf are imported if domestic cutting is restricted and blamed policymakers for directing officials to take this work. He also raised concerns about local authorities and water management, and argued farmers are often wrongly targeted. In reply an official said the state's role is to ensure such products are provided lawfully if the market requires them.
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Transcript
Thank you very much and thank the witnesses for coming here and explaining the job that they're doing. I'm very sorry though that we have policy makers and government that made a decision or took a decision to put Irish men and women after more Irish men and women to stop them of cutting turf. And I believe we all live under the one sky, every part of the world, and we are importing briquettes from Lithuania. I hear we're importing turf from Germany and I can see the point and it is very hurtful for all people that traditionally wouldn't turf in their fires. And if they're buying turf from the bigger fellas to keep their fires going, to keep themselves warm, I can understand it. Because every day since Borna Mora was closed down, the cost of electricity has risen. And there's no control by government, they're making no team, there's no regulator. And I do have to say as well, because it's a fact, that if we put out every light and put out every fire in the country and got off the island altogether, we'd only make 0.013 of 1% in the worldwide context. And that's why I'm worried and upset about this. Since the year 1800, I can trace back to our family cutting turf in our own bog for our own fire all the time. And I don't believe that those people did any harm. I don't believe that we are doing any harm cutting the bit of turf for ourselves at the present time. And I think that when I look at what's going on in the country, and I say to myself, is everything else in the country in tip-top shape, everything in order, that all we have to do is to follow people that are caught in turf for whatever scale choosing. Because it's being used by people who want to keep themselves basically warm. I regret the assertion that was made that Ireland is under-designated. Talk to any farmer that's trying to eat a living out of his bitter land. They're over-designated. And we see what happened with the Heen Harrier. And when the designation took place, the farmers were promised that they'd get compensation. There's no word about the compensation now. And their lands are unworth a pittance as to what they were worth before they were designated. So I'm certainly not looking for any more designations. And I'm asking, do we consider that what he'd been asked to do is fair in light of the other fuels that are coming in from other countries for to heat the people the same way as we would be doing it ourselves? Thank you, Deputy. Just to be absolutely clear, we're not talking about turf cutting for fuel consumption here at all. None of this is about turf cutting for fuel. Sorry for an interruption, but would I be right in saying that some of the turf that's cut by the bigger contractors is being bought by people that want to burn it in their own fuel seal in Ireland? Well, that's a different issue. And as I understand it, that's illegal as well. And it's something that the local authorities enforce. The EPA, in fact, you wouldn't know, really, because you're not, you've already said you're not going down that chain. Particularly, this is large scale operations. I mean, we're talking about huge operations with large machinery on large tracts of land, digging out enormous amounts of peat. Most of it going for export, most of it being used in the horticultural industry across Europe and Asia and South Africa. That's what we're talking about, Deputy. Not the householder who is lawfully cutting turf, exercising their lawful turbury rights. That's not what's at issue here at all. All right, so we'll just change it a small bit. So if we're importing briquettes and turf, why can't we export it? We're all under the one sky. It's very clear to me that the sun shines in some part of the world at all times. So I can't understand or make sense of it. And no, I'm not blaming he, I'm blaming the policy makers for insisting that he do this work. Because I know that he has other valuable work that he could be doing. We have a lot of local authorities around the country that are not doing our water any favours. And I do believe just as well that the farmers are being wrongly targeted most of the time. Okay, so we just have to watch the clock because it's the second stage. Any final comment on that in terms of just import-export? I mean, again, it's not really a remit in terms of... Absolutely not. And, you know, if the market requires this kind of product, our only role here is that it's provided in a lawful manner. Yeah, yeah, okay. Thank you.