The cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme was set up in 2011 to compensate domestic turf cutters who were forced to stop cutting turf on bogs designated as special areas of conservation and national heritage areas. In the time this scheme has been in operation, over 3,000 applicants have availed of the €1,500 index-linked payments for 15 years. The issue now is that many households are coming to the end of this 15-year period and there is no clarity as to what will happen once their payments end and whether there will be a successor scheme. I have been contacted by many constituents who have been impacted by restrictions on their right to cut turf and some have received their final payment under this scheme. Despite the ending of this compensation scheme these households will not be allowed to go back to cutting turf on their bogs. They voluntarily entered into this scheme but now the payments are coming to an end it seems the Government is choosing to abandon these households. This is only the beginning of it because, based on the parliamentary questions I have submitted, there are thousands of households that will see their payments end over the next number of years. This will mean that for the constituents who contacted me and for thousands of households, they will have neither turf to cut nor a compensation payment. It appears that the Minister and the Department are still reviewing their options on this but the problem is that, obviously, the Government has known for quite some time that this scheme was coming to an end. The Government knew there was an end date to these payments yet it seems the Minister is going to leave it to the last minute while household payments are already ending before deciding what the Government is going to do in this area. That leaves a huge deal of uncertainty for households who have relied on these compensation payments for the past 15 years. The Government has provided no detail or clarity as to when a decision will be made. Is the Department considering a successor compensation scheme for these turf cutters? What is the Government going to do to ensure these households are supported and can the Minister of State give a timeline for when any successor schemes will be announced?

Sentiment score: -0.03

I thank the Minister of State and I appreciate it is not her Department. However, it is deeply disappointing we do not have any clarity on what is going to happen in terms of supports for households, if anything, once these payments end. I have outlined the situation where families are no longer going to be receiving a compensation payment while not being allowed to cut turf in their bogs and we know we have a real crisis in terms of energy poverty and so on in this country at the moment. It is very concerning and many constituents have been in touch with me about this. They have not been able to get any clarity and I cannot provide any clarity to them either because of the lack of response coming from the Government. At least if clarity could be provided that a continuation of the scheme or an alternative was being considered, that would provide some reassurance to people. That is the bare minimum families should expect because they should continue to be compensated for not being allowed to cut turf in their bogs because that has a very significant impact on them. This situation demonstrates a broader failure of the Government to engage with turf cutting communities. One issue I have raised a number of times is the situation in Ardgraigue, Barroughter and Clonmoylan bogs in south-east Galway. I raised it with one of the Minister of State's colleagues, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan. Again, I would ask that he engages with the families impacted. In that case, there has been no effort to do that so far. In order to find a solution on that issue, the Minister of State might pass that feedback on to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, as well.

Sentiment score: 0.05