'Bord na Móna should return land to local communities'

Laois-Offaly TD Barry Cowen has written to the Government seeking that Bord na Móna be asked to make reparations for the public assets it has been given over the years.

He called for a reparations commission to be set up and for Bord Na Móna to be forced to share some of those lands with communities or make reparations for local investment.

"In the establishment of many semi-state bodies, most notably Bord na Móna and ESB, assets of the State - water, land, etc - were compulsorily purchased or given as gifts to these bodies.

“As we see in many regions of the world, reparation commissions and inquiries are now taking place or to take place to account for actions taken in past times.

“The Government needs to act to return lands and other assets taken from communities in the 1920s to 1960s.

"These semi-state bodies are now some of the richest companies in Ireland and Europe. While originally with a social purpose and for job creation, much of that is now lost and they have proved useless to the nation in the current energy-costs crisis," Cowen said.

"Therefore I believe the Government should set up a reparations commission on their assets. Some of those lands and much disused properties and other valuable commodities of the State that they got on the cheap or for free in the last 100 years should now be returned to the State and communities or a value placed on the assets, with funding returned for local communities."

Deputy Cowen said in his constituency, Bord na Móna must now cooperate  with local communities that want to start energy parks on lands the company got for little or nothing.

“Corporate hoarding of land and assets by semi-states has to be stopped and a fair return should now be made to communities.  I am calling for a reparations body to be established and for land and investment to be returned to the communities that originally gave up these lands.

He said the original remit given to Bord na Móna by the then Government was to create jobs and in turn the local and regional economy.

He said it can no longer do that to the necessary scale. Instead, the Government is establishing a just transition fund of some €170m made up of state and EU monies can generate and promote innovation.

"Land reparation schemes must now be in parallel also,” said Deputy Cowen.