Troy wants party chiefs to meet with BNM over domestic turf ban

Minister Robert Troy has thrown his weight behind pleas for the re-opening of the Bord na Móna areas formerly used for turf-cutting.

He has sent a letter to An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD, the Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar, and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan urging them to convene a meeting with the management board of Bord na Móna to explore how domestic turf cutting could be facilitated on a transitionary basis for those most in need.

"While I fully accept the constraints due to the judicial judgement on this matter, I believe it is widely acknowledged that this was largely in response to industrial harvesting and not domestic use," Minister Troy said in his letter.

Agreeing that Ireland "absolutely must embrace and support the transition away from fossils fuels to more sustainable alternatives", Minister Troy said the transition must be achieved in a fair way and acknowledgement was required that people need time to make the transition.

"The SEAI grant was only announced this year, meaning there has been little time afforded to adapt and upgrade heating systems in these homes and flexibility must be granted to those that need it," Minister Troy said.

Warning that Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine "will unfortunately continue to have an increasing impact on everyday life", Minister Troy said that the rising energy and fuel prices as a result of war are adding huge pressures on people in every part of the country.

"The problem of turf-cutting has only been compounded by the recent price increases," he continued.

"Affording flexibility at this time to domestic users is the right and fair thing to do."