CLONMOYLAN TURFCUTTERS RETURN TO DEFY EU BAN

Date Published: 21-Aug-2012

Raised bog owners in the Woodford area have returned to Clonmoylan to cut turf today [Aug 21] despite an EU ban.

A group of up to 60 members from local families returned to the designated site this morning after a dispute over a machinery seizure ended exactly two months ago [Jun 21].

12 bog complexes across County Galway are impacted by the EU directive - about a quarter of the number of designated boglands nationally.

The government has offered compensation and relocation options but many opt to continue cutting despite many warnings from the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Dermot Moran of the Clonmoylan Bog Action Group says enough fuel for two to three families has been cut today.

And he says despite the ban, the group feel they are not breaking any law but upholding a tradition.