People in Curraghboy "willing to go to jail" if turf ban is imposed

A meeting held in Curraghboy last weekend on domestic turf-cutting heard contributions from some local residents who said they"re prepared to go to jail in defiance of any EU ban on the practice. Approximately 100 people, including MEP Marian Harkin, Roscommon Mayor Tony Ward, and councillors Jimmy Kenny and John Kelly, attended the meeting at the St Brigid"s Handball Complex last Saturday. Environment Minister John Gormley last month announced the formation of a working group to examine a ban on turf-cutting in bogs designated as being within Special Areas of Conservation. The ban is expected to come into effect from next year, and Cllr Ward said that 22% of bogs in Roscommon fell into this category. In addition, the Independent councillor said many people were concerned that the ban could be extended to cover all bogs in the county by 2014. 'The views expressed at the meeting were that this is bureaucracy gone mad, and if push comes to shove people will go to jail over it. They will continue cutting turf in their bogs just as they and their families have done for hundreds of years,' he stated. 'People have helped to preserve the bogs over the years and the type of domestic turf-cutting we"re talking about here would have no effect on wildlife or fauna or anything like that. 'We have a Green Party Minister for the Environment who talks about our dependence on oil, but allowing people to continue cutting turf to heat their homes would allow them save money during these difficult times and would decrease our dependence on other forms of energy,' said Cllr Ward. The local representative said he would be making a submission to the Minister"s working group on turf-cutting ahead of its public consultation deadline of this Friday (July 17) and he has urged other members of the public to follow suit.