Roscommon Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice is accusing Bord na Móna of betraying thousands of families who rely on buying and rearing turf plots to heat their homes.
The Independent TD says the company is due to make an announcement this week that will mean up to 4,000 families across the midlands and west will not be able to buy hoppers of cut turf from Bord Na Móna land to harvest for their own use.
Deputy Fitzmaurice says that people who have turbary rights, or who have Q3 agreements with Bord Na Móna won't be affected by the latest development, but he maintains up to 4,000 families across the region will be.
He says Bord na Móna has tried to make light of this move by saying no more than a few hundred people will be affected, but this isn't borne out by information on the ground:
