State paying up €3,700/ac for raised bog

A price of €3,700/ac is being offered by the State for specific areas of high bog purchased under the bog restoration programme.

Up to €7,677/ac is being paid for grassland and other agricultural ground affected by rewetting works.

However, the Irish Farmers Journal understands that considerably more is being sought by individual landowners in some areas.

It has been confirmed that in excess of 59ac of raised bog have been purchased since 2020 by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) under the Voluntary Bog Purchase Scheme.

It is operated by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage as part of the Protected Raised Bog Restoration Incentive Scheme.

Payments

Under this scheme, farmers are paid €3,500/ac for the first 2.47ac and €3,000/ac for subsequent areas of high bog and non-reclaimed cut-over bog.

These prices are paid where the NPWS deems that the purchase is “strategic and will further support the implementation of the [bog] restoration programme”.

In addition, €7,677/ac is being offered for grassland, other agricultural land or reclaimed cut-over bog which is likely to be affected by the restoration measures.

The NPWS is also offering €4,000/ac for the purchase of drained non-high boglands inside or on the fringes of a special area of conservation or natural heritage area which are likely to be affected by the bog restoration measures.

A Department of Housing spokesperson confirmed that since 2020, the NPWS has bought 59ac of raised bog from five landowners across three raised bogs.

The NPWS is also finalising the purchase of 19.3ac of raised bog from four landowners across four raised bogs.

Discussions

In addition, the NPWS is understood to be in discussions with eight landowners for a further 114ac of bog, which is spread across five different sites.

Despite these land purchases, the Department insisted that the majority of payments made to landowners under the scheme have been to allow for the implementation of restoration measures without a change of ownership.