Press Release

The news that four turf cutters have been sent summonses for doing what people have done for centuries is a final betrayal from a government which came to power on the back of a series of lies. As with so many organisations in the country the TCCA has been betrayed. The Taoiseach himself in a conversation with our Chairperson Michael Fitzmaurice in February of last year informed him that "turf cutters had been wronged". Well if that is the case then why make the same mistakes all over again. In fact our Taoiseach has gone so far as to describe our Chairperson as a "patriot". Our organisation happens to agree. He has however a funny way of treating a patriot.

The recommendations of Judge Quirks’ report on the pealtands forum have been ignored. He described turf cutters as "hardworking, decent, respectable and law abiding citizens". This is not how we are being treated.

The TCCA has painstakingly put together detailed proposals which were accepted by our members. These were passed by Dáil Eireann on March 7th of last year. They had previously been described by Minister Deenihan as "That's the way designations should have been done in the first place".

If the government wants this situation resolved it needs to start listening to "patriots" like Michael Fitzmaurice. It need to follow through on its commitments made in Dáil Eireann on March 7th last. It needs to really start listening to the stakeholders and to stop the intimidation and threats. After sixteen years and €750 million, successive government have failed to resolve a single bog with active turf cutters. At this stage it should have become obvious that the only way of resolving this issue is to work with the stakeholders.

Last year people were constantly warned that they would face penalties to farm grants and outright prosecution if they cut their turf. This did succeed in bullying some people into applying for the compensation package. However the majority resisted and at the end of what was an atrociously wet year 26 out of the 29 SAC bogs which had been cut in 2011 were subsequently cut in 2012. As is the norm in any given year there was less cutting on some of these bogs and on others there was more activity.

One such example of a bog where more turf was cut is Moanveanlough in County Kerry. This bog happens to be in the neighbourhood of Minister Jimmy Deenihan. The curious thing for turf cutters in this and many other areas is how so many have apparently taken compensation yet at the same time so many are still cutting turf. Moanveanlough bog is a good example of this. Even though more people cut turf in 2012 than in 2011, 27 are still recorded as having applied for compensation. So either the department are paying people who do not satisfy the criteria of the scheme or they are massaging the figured to make the compensation scheme appear more successful than it actually is.

We have as an organisation fought this battle through many different fora. We will now it appears fight it through the courts. As always we are ready for the battle.

The TCCA are now asking all politicians regardless of political persuasion to condemn the act of summoning ordinary decent people to court for doing what they have for centuries. We are also asking that government politicians, who got elected on the back of promises to turf cutters which have now been reneged upon, to resign with immediate effect.

Regardless of threats of state intimidation against its own citizens we will again this year continue to do what we have for centuries. We will when the weather permits be vindicating our rights. We will not be run off our lands.

 

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TCCA End of Year Statement Dec-2012


Click here to read

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TURF CUTTERS AND CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION STATEMENT.

On Sunday last October 7th the TCCA held an EGM in Birr, Co. Offaly. The meeting was attended by representatives from 37 bog committees from all over the country. The overwhelming consensus of the meeting was that we should continue to cut our turf again next year....

Read the full statement by clicking here

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The 75 NHA’s that will be closed at the end of 2013:

NHA Bog List

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NPWS & Peatlands Strategy Committee:

National SAC Management Plan Proposed Approach

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Link to the Petitions Committee meeting in the European Parliament when the issue of turf cutting was raised by FIE.
When you open the link if you bring the time forward to 16.30hrs that is the start of the Turf Cutting Petition and you will see the response of the Commission, the Irish authorities and Marian’s contribution on the matter.

Petitions Committee video

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TCCA Proposal’s on 57 Raised Bog Complexes To EU Commission and Irish Government

Revision 6

Click Here to download (10Mb) .pdf

Click here to download Adobe Reader

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Welcome to the TCCA

A voluntary group based in the west of Ireland which is opposed to a European Union (EU) directive to outlaw turf cutting on family bogs.

Chairmans Address

Firstly I would like to thank you for visiting our web-site. I would like to point out that we are fully in favour of conservation and have proved beyond any doubt that turf cutting & conservation can co-exist. Even the most extreme opponents of domestic turf cutting have admitted that our bogs that are designated are the most pristine in Europe, if not the world. It’s a credit to the people over the generations for the way they have kept their bogs.

I hope when you visit this site you can understand the difference between domestic turf cutting, where people only take enough for the annual supply for the family home and commercial operations where huge amounts are extracted. Bear in mind that the State owns 92% of these bogs and 1 acre will last domestic cutters approx 300 years effectively giving us our own little oil well & fuel security. Thus avoiding another problem in Ireland at the moment fuel poverty.

The TCCA was setup to fight for the right of the continuation of domestic turf cutting in Ireland. It was also to represent the people affected by the Habitats Directive which was passed into Irish law in 1997 by Minister of the day Michael D Higgins thus creating SACs(Special Areas of Conservation) and later in 2001 a Finna Fail coalition government enacted the Wild Life act which created NHAs (National Heritage Areas).

There is a real threat from Europe and The Irish Government to grab another Natural Resource from the indigenous people of this country but this appears to be the one that will break the camels back.

I would ask that you join with us in our journey to protect the rights of the good people of Ireland be it through membership, supporting meetings, adding your voice on the radio, joining our facebook page, or making your local politician aware of the wrong-doing that is going on.

There are solutions to this problem but sadly no one seems to be listening. Common sense will resolve this issue in an orderly fashion.

But may I state categorically that bullying, threats or intimidation will NOT be tolerated against any of our members.

If you have any questions or comments please get in touch through the 'contact us' page.

Nil aon thintean mar do thintean fein,
Le Mass Michael Fitzmaurice.

 

Photos

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