Bord na Móna staff are to meet with farmers and landowners around the Mount Dillon, Erenagh area of Roscommon over concerns they have about planned rewetting works.

Bord na Móna is tasked with rewetting 40,000ha of peatland under European Union Nature Restoration Law commitments.

It had scheduled work at Mount Dillon, Erenagh, and 15 further sites to begin today (Thursday, July 24).

Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly said that landowners were only notified of the start date a few days ago. However, the works did not begin today as planned.

MEP Mullooly and Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice have been engaging with the community on the issue and today visited local sites where flooding is expected if assessments and mitigating works are not carried out.

Following a public meeting last Tuesday in Ballyleague, Co. Roscommon, MEP Mullooly issued a letter directly to Bord na Móna’s CEO, Tom Donnellan.

He requested the company to suspend all rewetting activities in Co. Roscommon and elsewhere until certain procedures are followed.

“Farmers are particularly concerned that perimeter drains, many of which are reportedly clogged with silt and overgrown, have not been cleaned out in advance of the rewetting," the MEP said.

“Farmers are not opposed to the principle of bog rewetting, but they rightly expect existing protocols to be honoured and vital drainage infrastructure to be addressed to protect their own land.

"Many of these drains are almost entirely blocked, and without action, the flooding of valuable farmland is inevitable.”

It's understood that personnel from Bord na Móna will meet the affected landowners next week to assess the land and the impact of the planned works on their properties.