I have just read through this complete thread and i am seething !! How dare the Green party tell our people to cease their age-old traditions. They will be thought a lesson in the next election, they are history !! There are so few of them and the amount of clout they have is scandalous, just to keep F.F. in power. I am bloody mad at what is happening in our country !!

Cavan_Slasher (Cavan) - Posts: 10253 - 07/07/2010 18:24:44    699734

good post BandH but I feel that our rural logic will be wasted on our sandal wearing townie friends who have zero background knowledge.Unfortunately this does not stop them from commenting on something they don't understand.

No matter who you are inIreland you use power enerated from the burning of fossil fuels.Now when people mine for coal or drill for oil there is disturbance to the Natural Environment(In fact in greater magnitude to that caused by cutting turf).These people don't seem to bothered about this however and seem fun to pke holes in the ways of rural Ireland.

Perhaps Mr. Gormley should take his head out of the sand and live in the real world. While things like the oil spill in America and the astronomical emmisions of C02 from China continue it matters little what we do in Ireland. Stopping a minority from cutting turf on a small unimportant scale will not save the polar bears and it won't save too many animals on the bog either as tis practice has been going on for years and will hopefully continue into the future.

maigh_eo (Mayo) - Posts: 1346 - 07/07/2010 18:34:35    699738

Jimbo fossils fuels are not the way forward as pointed out with bord na mona which you still haven't appreciated... I think recently they plan to close or closed a peat burning power station in offaly yet have bord na mona stopped using the mid lands bogs nope.... bord na mona are responsible for the vast majority of cut away bogs in fact I havn't heard of any cut away bog by individual turf cutters!! Do you or have you ever used briquttes well these used vastly more peat than traditional turf as it compressed peat.

Have a look at the coillte website they praise their effort of native forest renewal with 9 projects outlined grated there is one of 220 acres but the majority are tiny one in cahir is 9 arces, most house are on a 1/4 site so this is the same as a small houseing estate. I outlined coillte have 350,000 arces of forestry couple of hundred arces is not enough. I worked for coillte as a young lad so i know a fair bit about it.

Also you highlight the pheonix park well how much is actually planted??? You have the zoo embassey's, aras i think 10 or 11 sports pitches a show ground.... there's probably 15/20 arches of natural grass land and wood??

Wonce again the turf cutters should not be punished when corporations are allowed to exploit the resources in question to a vastly higher level.

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 07/07/2010 20:20:23    699828

Gromley is just looking for a green buzz before the next election he goes after the small people and the media coverage yet leaves the big guys alone!!! Greens the same as the rest sure didn't he even ok an incenerator in his own consitituance??

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 07/07/2010 20:22:40    699831

P.s Jimbo I lived beside pheonix park for 3 years granted 15 mins maybe not but I walked from the island bridge entrance to the castleknock in 20 mins. Your the one that highlighted pheonix park as been a green oasis why did you then bring it into the arguement.

Yes there are substancial bogs around the slieve felim area but nothing compared to the bog of allen which is torn apart by bord na mona.

just to give u an idea of the resources on some individual turf cutting bog. The dublin to limerick raod goes threw a bog near limerick... they decided to build on a stretch which was coined "bottom less bog" they drove foundatation pilons 100's of metres into the bog and still didn't reach the bottom with the effect some of the road got washed away last november. It was one of the first stretches started yet still isn't open.

Turf cutters were "turfed" off part of this bog so how great an impact would their non intensive turf cutting have on such a bog?? A scratch on the surface.

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 07/07/2010 20:33:46    699843

jimbodub
County: Dublin
bog owners must pay contractors to cut the turf.

Can they cut it themselves?

ive never seen anyone cut turf with a slane, its done with track machines - only to show tourists like yourself mabey. look im not trying to insult you but you dont know what your talkin about mate. and as every poster keeps telling you - bord na mona should be scrapped if this is the road the government want to go down.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11746 - 07/07/2010 20:33:57    699844

"Also if you own a plot of bog beside your house... can you not cut that turf for your own personnel use?"

Yes you can if you own the land.

I grew up saving turf hated the back braking work but used to love wandering around the bog. Also Jimbo sorry if you think I'm shoving words down your mouth but I like to come to such a discussion with a little more than hearsay and an opinions without facts.

In short my arguement is if they want to perserve bog land well go after the people who are causeing the real damage!!!

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 07/07/2010 20:46:50    699852

Re: slasher

Is there a shortage of hares about as i rarely see one nowadays ?

Rearly see them on what left of bogs but yes they are decresing in numbers due to farming practises too much silage is cut too many times a years especially now around breeding season. An in-law of mine who course's (which i don't agree with) says there smaller and smaller number each year they find it hard to find the numbers they used to, also lately travellers have also taken to hunting hares a lot more and selling them to the organisers of coursing meeting at a high price.

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 07/07/2010 21:01:34    699866

If it wasn't for coursing clubs, there would probably be no hares left. Something that the opponents of coursing can't seem to get into their heads.

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 08/07/2010 08:39:19    699954

hurlingdub:

Explain.... farming practises are the biggest danger to Hares they are not really good eating I've heard.

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 08/07/2010 16:19:29    700601