Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 27 May 2015
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications
Peat Briquette Production: Bord na Móna
10:15 am
Mr. Mike Quinn:
The second question related to BioEnergy Ireland, which is a very exciting opportunity for Bord na Móna Our peat will not last forever, and stocks will run down by about 2030, so the bioenergy industry will become a significant part of Bord na Móna's business. We have a significant opportunity to maintain employment in the midlands by using the workforce and equipment with which we currently harvest peat to harvest the private forestry sector. The establishment of a willow crop industry within 100 km of power stations is economical, and we are working very closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on that. BioEnergy Ireland will be a very significant part of Bord na Móna's business into the next decade.
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