Probe launched as it emerges peat extraction continued on Bord na Móna lands after firm ended production

The unauthorised activities are ­attributed to outside operators who do not work for Bord na Móna.

The sites are now under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and one is the subject of a temporary injunction pending a full hearing in the courts.

At least two operations are believed to be of very large scale while smaller commercial operations are also suspected.

These are distinct from small sites worked by people with traditional “turbary rights” on the Bord na Móna landbank, which allows them to extract peat for their own use.

The situation emerged amid revelations that the EPA has compiled dossiers on dozens of illegal and unauthorised peat-extraction operations on bogs in nine counties.

The EPA is to pursue a number of the largest operators directly and has passed on the files relating to 38 priority sites to local planning authorities for enforcement.

The agency said Bord na Móna had reported unauthorised extraction on its landbank and the company was keeping the EPA updated on legal developments.

Unauthorised turf-cutting on Bord na Móna’s landbank is illegal practice which the company mitigates against through on-site monitoring and prevention processes, and legal action if required

Correspondence released to Right to Know transparency campaigners shows that, on one site visit last year, EPA inspectors recorded stockpiles of peat, evidence of peat extraction and lands being prepared for extraction on Bord na Móna land.

Bord na Móna told the agency some of that site had been transferred to a third party and none of the activities were being carried out by the company itself.

The inspectors noted that the drains on the third-party lands were linked to Bord na Móna’s extensive drainage infrastructure.

Apart from those with turbary rights, only Bord na Móna is licensed to work on Bord na Móna lands and while it has ceased peat extraction, it remains the licence-holder while rehabilitation works are carried out, overseen by the EPA.

A company spokesperson said: “Bord na Móna has ceased all commercial peat harvesting on its lands and has now fully completed its transition from a traditional peat business to a renewable energy and climate solutions company.

“Bord na Móna no longer issues licences to commercial contractors or other licensed turf cutters to extract peat from any of its lands.

“It remains the responsibility of turbary rights holders to ensure that their activities are not in contravention of any current planning and/or environmental regulations.

“Unauthorised turf-cutting on Bord na Móna’s landbank is illegal practice which the company mitigates against through on-site monitoring and prevention processes, and legal action if required.”

Bord na Móna was granted an interlocutory injunction against one operator earlier this year in a case which is due back before the High Court next week and is being contested.

The company announced an end to peat extraction as part of its “brown to green” transformation and aims to have rehabilitated 33,000 hectares of its 80,000 hectare landbank by 2030.

The Government approved €108m in state funding towards the project in 2020.