TURF PRODUCTION 1951 – KILDARE COUNTY COUNCIL SCHEME

 

 

 

It was proposed, he said, to operate the turf banks which the Council worked during the emergency. The Council’s annual production of turf during the emergency was around 5,000 tons per year, and in 1947, the final year, they produced 6,500 tons. The Council’s requirements for the institutions and for machinery normally amounted to 3,000 tons a year.

 

“We are now asked by the Minister to produce this year three times that figure of 3,000 tons, which is equivalent to 9,000 tons,” the County Engineer continued.

 

“We have therefore made representations to the various owners to acquire the banks the Council operated during the emergency, with the addition of certain other banks.”

 

“We expect, given suitable weather, to produce this year somewhere between 8,000 and 9,000 tons of turf, provided we arrive at a satisfactory agreement with the owners of the banks. It will be necessary to do certain preliminary works on these turf banks and the roads leading to them, and the cost of it will be around £2,000. The Council has already made arrangements for the purchase of the necessary implements for its turf production programme.

 

 

Chairman (Mr. G. Sweetman, T.D.)-What total tonnage of turf does all that come to?

 

Chairman-Though to some extent the banks the County Engineer has listed are spread all over the county, it is not altogether so, for there are bogs in several areas that are not on the list.

 

County Engineer-The bogs listed are those which the Council worked before and on which a considerable sum on development work was spent by the Council.

Mr. Quinn-If the Council go in at Ballyteague they are going to put about 50 good producers out of it.

Mr. T. Harris, T.D.-Hasn’t Mr. Dunne a good portion of bog there that is not being worked?

County Engineer-I understand from the Assistant County Engineer that he came to an agreement with Mr. Dunne about banks there.

Mr. J. Mc Loughlin-I don’t think it would interfere with private producers there.

County Engineer-The letter from the Minister makes special reference to the fact that County Councils should consider leasing again banks which they used during the emergency, and that for that reason it would be possible to carry out the Minister’s programme.

Mr. Harris-I think the Council should choose undeveloped bogs. Everywhere that the bogs are developed you will find somebody in occupation, and it would be very wrong for the Council to deprive those private producers of the developed bogs.

Mr. Andy Moore-Quite so. You could not do it.

Chairman-Certainly not, as long as we are satisfied the bogs are going to be worked. Of course it would be a different story where the bog is not being worked to capacity.

County Engineer-If bogs are vested by the Council, banks would be let again to the tenants.

Mr. W. Miley-There is a great stretch of bog at Loughabour, adjoining Tinnakill, that has never been worked. Some time ago an official came there and told tenants of the district a road would be made into the bog, but nothing was done since. There is 60 perches in the bog I refer to, and the people there tell me it has never been flooded.

County Engineer-I take it that a great deal of preliminary work would have to be done before you could take turf off that bog, and you might not take any turf off it this year at all.

 

“One thing we should guard against, a thing that happened on my own bog at Milltown,” he continued. “I have 40 acres of bog there, and one part of it yields 21 floors of turf. Bord na Mona took over portion of that bog during the emergency, and left it in such a state, with haphazardly cut drains and gobs of turf here and there, that a private producer could not possibly win turf from it in its present condition. Now that large sums are to be spent on re-development works on bogs, steps should be taken to guard against an occurrence of that nature.”

Mr. T. Carbury-Private producers in Athy area have complained to me that last year the Land Commission were very slow and very late in letting the banks. We should call on the Land Commission to let their banks this year as early as possible.

Mr. Moore-Bord na Mona went to the expense of building a road through my bog, and then only took one year’s cutting off it.

County Engineer-Will you give your bog to the County Council this year?

Mr. Moore-I was afraid of that (laughter).

County Engineer-The bogs we have on the list here have been selected more or less on the basis of the labour pool. We will have to use a number of our roadmen on this work. I understand a special regulation will be made by the Minister whereby there will be no break in the continuity of the roadmen’s service if they are put on bog work.

A lot of men will be available from the Local Authorities (Works) Act schemes if required, but the intention is to carry on all those schemes and carry on the road works as well.

Chairman-I don’t think it could be done. We would not have enough men.

Mr. P.J. Frayne-Will it increase the cost of your turf considerably if you have to move to new bogs, or will it mean a big holdup for development and drainage in a new area? Will it be a serious item if you find manpower scarce, and if you have to leave the developed bogs to, say, half a dozen private cutters and go and develop new bogs?

County Engineers-That is our main difficulty, the preliminary work we have to do on the bogs. The reason for our intention to take over the bogs we worked before is to reduce development to a minimum. Even the bogs we developed before need further development work.

Mr. Harris-Would it be possible to transfer for expenditure on bog development some of the money available for works under the Local Authorities (Works) Act?

County Engineer-At the conference we had in Dublin we were told that it was being considered.

Chairman-That question will want to be decided very quickly.

 

Chairman-It seems to me most the urgent thing of the whole lot is drainage. Most important, too, is to have the roads to get out of the bogs.

Mr. H. Cosgrave-I believe we will get as many bogs as we have men to cut. Is there anything about wages yet?

Chairman-That is one of the things the County Engineer has asked for a decision on, and the Manager’s note is to indicate the Bord na Mona rates of wages.

Mr. Cosgrave-Bord na Mona board and house their workers for £1 a week, which is something the Council could not do. The current rate paid by Bord na Mona is 1/7 an hour, but the Council will not get men to work for that now.

Mr. J. Dowling-The wages laid down in the Kildoon area by private cutters for the coming year is £1 per day.

Mr. Harris-The number of skilled cutters available is not large. Private producers will pay big wages to highly skilled workers, but they would not pay the same high rates to less skilled men whom the County Council may have to employ. If the County Engineer tries to get out 9,000 tons he will have a lot of unskilled workers employed and the quality of the turf will not be good.

Mr. M. Kilmartin-We would be helping ourselves and private producers by making the roads and developing bogs.

Mr. Moore urged that Clongowna road leading into Milltown bog be repaired by the Council, in view of the importance of the bog to Newbridge.

Mr. Frayne-Is the County Engineer reserving any banks for the bank clerks? (laughter).

The Council recommended, subject to the Minister’s sanction, the following rates of wages for bog workers: Slanesmen, £5 per week, plus bonus on output; wheelers, £4-14-0.

It was decided to cease cutting on July 1^st.