“Protect peat or pay the price”, Commission warns Ireland

Date: 16/01/03

By Karen Carstens

IRELAND could be hit with a daily €21,600 fine for failing to protect one of its most precious resources - peat.

The country boasts more bogs than any other in the world besides Finland, Canada and Indonesia, with 16.2 of its land mass covered in peat lands. But the Irish government has consistently flouted EU environment rules requiring it to curb the harvesting of peat for commercial use as fuel and fertilisers. The European Commission recently sent Dublin a message: protect the peat or cough up the cash.

EU environment officials decided to refer Ireland to the European Court of Justice after it ignored a previous judgement handed down by the Court in September 1999.

"I hope they do fine them, because this is just ridiculous," said Irish Green MEP Patricia McKenna. "The Irish government has a very casual attitude on compliance with environmental directives."

The country has been reprimanded by the Commission for failing to implement directives on habitat and bird protection, nitrates, drinking water, volatile organic compounds, waste and environmental impact assessment, among others, she said.

Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström, referring to the directive which Ireland has flouted, said the country must "come into line with the legal provisions on environmental impact assessment (EIA)".

While Ireland has partially implemented the EIA directive, Wallström's environment directorate has found that some 45,000 hectares of sensitive peat lands, home to many rare plant and animal species, are still threatened. Around 15,000 hectares consist of raised bogs and 30,000 of blanket bogs.

The latter are especially at risk, as they are harvested for horticultural peat, popular with both gardeners and farmers.

Up to 90 of Ireland's raised bogs have already been lost. Formed over thousands of years, they are highly sensitive to changes in hydrological conditions and can be quickly damaged or destroyed, especially as a result of the drainage and mining that is associated with peat extraction.

Irish Environment Minister Martin Cullen said the relevant legislation should be in place before the case comes up again, following a period of public consultation over the next few months aimed at designating some 100 raised and blanket bogs as natural heritage areas.

Jonathan Faull, the Commission's chief spokesman, said: "We're confident the Irish government will introduce the laws before this ever comes to court."

But McKenna remains sceptical: "No Irish government to date has ever taken environmental protection seriously. They've only done what they have to do when they're forced into a corner."

Ireland has been reprimanded by the European Commission for failing to implement environmental directives, including rules requiring it to curb the harvesting of peat for commercial use.