There will be no U-turn on the Government decision to ban turf-cutting on raised bogs, Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Minister Jimmy Deenihan told protestors in Galway this morning.
Turfcutters from the West and Midlands staged the demonstration as part of an ongoing campaign to oppose restrictions on the cutting of turf on raised bogs.
Mr Deenihan was confronted by a group of about 50 protesters as he arrived at Galway County Council.
The turf-cutters from Galway, Roscommon and Offaly said they were determined to have the ban overturned as turf cut on these bogs was an essential and affordable form of fuel for hundreds of families in the region.
They said they could not accept that that they would be deprived of their centuries old traditional rights to cut turf on the bogs they owned.
