Cutting Turf

[rockyracoon]

Turberry rights were passed on through the sale of a property (usually a farm) but this practice is being or has stopped. There are many bog areas of Ireland now designated as protected by various EU statutes. The newest one is about some hawk or other. However, the intrepretation of the laws varies from locality to locality from what I've heard. You cannot simply go into a bog and start cutting turf. Either you will be in contravention of various ecology statutes or cutting on some else's bog. In the latter case, it can get very nasty.

Locally there is a compromise being hammered out whereby machine cut turf will be disallowed as it is very destructive of the bog covering. Hand cut turf seems to be alright for the moment. (About a third or more of bog material is returned as covering and the heather etc. is blooming again the following year.) Overall I estimate we save about €300 - 400 in energy costs a year by cutting our own turf. €3,500 price tag for essentially selling your turberry rights is peanuts given the high cost of alt fuels. However, the work in cutting and savings the turf is hard and time consuming. gl

[katy brock]

You will have to show title to make a claim

We could organise a Politics.ie Scheme which would net us all about €2000 each net

Find a few hundred acres of raised bog.

Lease from farmer

Grant sub leases to Scheme members

Apply for for the compo and split 2000/ 1000/500 for Pemenbers/ bogowner/ mairteenpak

About 500 to a thousand plots ought to do us

How many PE members would join

Afterwards we might do a PE housing cooperative :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

I gotta admit you know your stuff! (provided you don`t start raving about God and aliens).

[Centurian]

Many's the long scorching hot summer's day I spent on the high bog wheelin' and stackin' - With a master slanesman lashin' sods up at me all day and the midgets atin' the head off me.....