Farmers in north Longford and south Leitrim have raised objections to the National Parks and Wildlife Services’ (NPWS) plan to flood extensive green land fields at the fringes of cutaway bogs in the area that are currently designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

The NPWS has effectively taken over the management of these SAC lands. The NPWS stated its intention, in its management plan, is to flood these areas by blocking existing field drains.

Landowners and turf-cutting contractors in the area of the Clooneen Bog have joined forces in objecting to the plan being foisted upon them, which would result in between 30 and 50% of some farms being made unusable. Some 31% of the Clooneen Bog SAC area has been designated as peat land and the remaining 69% is considered green farmland.

The so-called restoration plan by NPWS proposes the blockage of both open and overgrown drains, coupled with forestry plantation clearance.

The Clooneen Bog is just one of 53 bogs nationwide that are part of an SAC. While some attempts have been made to address the issues of the turf cutters on these bogs, in the form of compensation, the NPWS has made no attempt to address the rights of landowners to farm their land as normal. The NPWS plan would effectively make these green land areas useless for farming.