MINISTER OF STATE for Heritage Malcolm Noonan has approved funding of up to €75,000 to deliver peatland restoration measures at Abbeyleix Bog in Co Laois.

The funding, which will be granted to the Abbeyleix Bog Project and delivered under the Government’s Peatlands Community Engagement Scheme, will assist in bolstering nature and biodiversity in the region.

The Laois bog spans across an area of almost 500 acres and encompasses degraded raised bog as well as wet carr woodland and meadows.

Restored peatlands have been cited as vast carbon stores that play an important role in supporting biodiversity and mitigating the effects of climate change.

According to a Department of Housing spokesperson,  a dry or damaged bog emits between four to fifteen tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year on average, while an intact peatland sequesters approximately two tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year.

Announcing the funding, Minister Noonan said he was “delighted” to be supporting the Abbeyleix Bog Project in the next phase of their plan, which will seek to take in areas of cutaway bog and wet woodland.

The Green Party TD said: “Community groups play such an important role in protecting nature and biodiversity, and those involved in the conservation and restoration of 103 hectares of Abbeyleix Bog back in 2009 were ahead of their time.

“Through this work, the bog will become a functioning peatland again, halting carbon emissions, enhancing water quality, and providing habitats for a diverse range of unique flora and fauna which have adapted to life in the bogs.”

According to the National Parks & Wildlife Service, a fund of €500,000 is being made available under the community engagement scheme in 2022 to support initiatives with community benefit that promote the conservation and revitalisation of Irish peatland.

Applications to avail of the scheme’s funding this year remain open to accommodate projects delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.