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Malcolm Noonan, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, today (Monday 8 August) announced that he has approved grant funding of up to €75,000 to the Abbeyleix Bog Project for peatland restoration measures at Abbeyleix Bog in Co. Laois.
Announcing the funding under the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s Peatlands Community Engagement Scheme, which has been operating for the last number of years, the Minister stated that he was delighted to support active and determined community and volunteer groups like Abbeyleix Bog Project in their efforts to embrace and bolster nature and biodiversity.
The Minister said:
“Community groups play such an important role in protecting nature and biodiversity, and those involved in the conservation and restoration of 103 hectares of Abbeyleix Bog back in 2009 were ahead of their time. I’m delighted to be able to support this next phase of the project, which will take in areas of cutaway bog and wet woodland. Through this work, the bog will become a functioning peatland again, halting carbon emissions, enhancing water quality, and providing habitats for a diverse range of unique flora and fauna which have adapted to life in the bogs. This model of government-supported, community-led restoration is a powerful one and I’d like to encourage anyone interested in taking action to restore peatlands to consider replicating its success.”
The Minister has also outlined that the Peatlands Community Engagement Scheme in 2022 remains open for the submission of new applications this year, enabling community groups and others to proceed with projects delayed due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Further details of peatlands schemes operated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service are available on the department website www.npws.ie.
Peatlands are vast carbon stores and play an important role in preventing and mitigating the effects of climate change, supporting biodiversity and minimising flood risk, amongst other benefits. When peat dries, due to land-use change, peat extraction and drainage, it decays, releasing CO2 instead of sequestering it, and turns a natural C sink into a significant and persistent source. On average, when a peatland is dry or damaged it emits between 4-15 tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year. Conversely, an intact peatland sequesters, on average, approximately 2 tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year.
Activities/projects funded under the scheme will be subject to adherence to public health guidelines, and relevant statutory requirements.
Further details and the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme are available on the department’s website (NPWS) at https://www.npws.ie/peatlands-and-turf-cutting/peatlands-community-engagement-scheme