Bord na Móna has said it is keen to be a “good neighbour” as it moves forward with plans to rewet 80,000ac of bogs.

There has been some concern from farmers and farm organisations that rewetting peatland could have a detrimental impact on neighbouring farmland in terms of drainage.

However, Bord na Móna said it would always fulfil its obligations to land owners.

Good neighbour

“Bord na Móna has always and will always fulfil all of our obligations as a land-owner and a good neighbour.

“We will do this through demonstration of exemplar design, stewardship and stakeholder engagement as we rehabilitate our peatlands,” it said.

Rewetting bogs has been outlined as a key way to help meet emission targets and while peatlands only cover 3% of the earth’s surface, it holds up to 30% of all the carbon in stored land.

“If a neighbouring landowner has a query with regard to Bord na Móna’s management of the boundary drains on completion of the rehabilitation measures, those queries can be submitted directly to the dedicated boundary management team at landuseinfo@bnm.ie and each such query will be investigated and actioned appropriately.

“Any queries in advance of, or during, implementation of the rehabilitation measures can also be directed to the email address pcasinfo@bnm.ie,” it said.