Offaly bogs listed in legal opinion in European case against Government

Bogs in the Slieve Blooms mountains are among those at the centre of a legal opinion by a top EU adviser that Ireland is in breach of its requirement to protect bogs.

In an opinion delivered recently, Advocate General Juliane Kokott advised judges at the European Court of Justice to find that Ireland has failed to meet its obligations under the EU’s Habitats Directive to protect and restore affected bogs..

The European Commission referred Ireland to the EU Court of Justice in March 2024 for what it said was its “failure to apply the Habitats Directive to protect sites designated for raised bog and blanket bog habitats from turf cutting.”

The Advocate General’s role is to provide an independent, non-binding legal opinion to the court. Generally, the EU Court of Justice agrees with Advocate General opinions, but not in all cases.

The claim by the European Commission cited numerous bogs around the country. These include the blanket bogs incuding the Slieve Bloom SAC bog,

The Advocate General found Ireland had failed to take appropriate steps to avoid the deterioration of protected blanket bog habitats as a result of activities related to peat cutting.

Redwood Bog, on the Tipperary/Offaly border, was among raised bog or degraded raised bog habitats which, the EU legal opinion found, had not been protected from further deterioration.

The European Court of Justice is expected to make a ruling by the end of the year.

Ireland had argued that it had taken adequate steps to comply its various obligations under the Habitats Directive. It said it had provided financial incentives to compensate peat cutters.

It said peat cutting had ceased completely by November 2022 on 73% of the special areas of conservation concerned.

It said: “The fact that a small number of persons continue to engage in illegal peat cutting in a few sites, despite the efforts of the Irish authorities, is not a sufficient basis to conclude that the measures are inadequate.”

In its opinion, the Advocate General found that Ireland had failed to prevent the deterioration of raised bog habitats and blanket bog habitats and had failed to restore these habitats.

Prior to referring the case to the court, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Ireland in January 2011, followed by a reasoned opinion in June 2011.

It said that while there had been some progress, the Irish authorities had not fully addressed the shortcomings. It sent an additional reasoned opinion in September 2022 and then in March 2024 referred Ireland to the Court of Justice.