New machines have been deployed on Bord na Móna land in Tipperary and Longford as part of a plan to revive thousands of hectares of bog across Ireland.

The work will block decades old drains on the bogs causing them to flood and start growing again.

The two new machines, which have been engineered for bog work, cost over €100,000 and have been deployed in the past week on locations in counties Longford and Tipperary.

Speaking on Clonwhelan Bog, near Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, Bord na Móna ecologist David Fallon said: “These machines are like massive bog defibrillators, giving them the push they need to start living again. Their arrival here is a massive boost to the task of blocking the drains that will raise the water levels and re-wet the bog."

"Once the bog is wet the live mosses which build the bog will return. When the live mosses are active again the bog can return to being a carbon sink.

"We hear a lot about the effectiveness of rainforests in this regard but Irish bogs can be just as effective in drawing down and storing carbon.

"These rehabilitated bogs also have the immediate benefit of providing new habitats for rare Irish flora and fauna. We have 162 hectares of bog here that once re-wetted, we hope will become a habitat for a number of precious species including the Curlew.”

Bord na Mona has rehabilitated over 700ha of cutaway bog in the past year. This adds to the 15,000ha of bog already rehabilitated by the company. The company has outlined a target to rehabilitate at least another 10,000ha in the coming decade.

In 2015 Bord na Móna announced it was transitioning towards a more sustainable business model and that it would cease harvesting peat for energy by 2030.

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