Regional Enforcement Authority To Prevent Illegal Peat Extraction Still Being Formed

Local Government Minister James Browne has not announced further progress on the plan.

Questions are being asked about when, if ever, a regional enforcement authority to prevent illegal peat extraction will be set up.

Last October, Minister James Browne was awarded powers to set it up to take on cases on behalf of county councils.

Nine sites in Offaly and eight in Westmeath have been previously cited in an EPA report on illegal sites.

It comes as new figures reveal over 370 thousand tonnes of peat was exported from Ireland last year, an increase on 2023, and 2024.

Caroline O'Doherty, Climate and Science Correspondent for the Irish Times says the government is staying quiet.

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