Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Lucas for joining us but anyone listening will note he has referred to the working group in almost every answer as where the solution will be found.

Mr. Lucas has talked about the working group operating under what appear to be speedy circumstances. It does not reflect my experience of Government-appointed groups in terms of either interim or full reports. The Minister of State published the review report on 7 September. He had it to hand before that. Today, we are told he has appointed an independent chair, five months later. Why did it take five months? I do not know this gentleman, Dr. Prasad, and will not cast views one way or another. Can Mr. Lucas outline the criteria under which the independent chairperson was selected? There will be a period before all the members are appointed. My understanding is that expressions of interest will be sought and members will be appointed.

I have a fear that the working group is a facade to enable the Government to hide behind the working group in terms of its outward decisions. One can see it already in Mr. Lucas's responses. A Green Party Minister will say he followed through on preventing the use of horticultural peat and other Government Ministers will say it was a working group.

Mr. Lucas's opening statement states there are significant positives and negatives arising from the ending of the use of peat moss in the horticultural industry. We have seen nothing from the Department or his opening statement acknowledging the negatives of the proposed course of action.

The fundamental problem with the working group, as has been set out, is that it has a predetermined outcome. It states that one of its terms of reference will be to facilitate the elimination of the use of peat moss in the horticultural industry. It is not an environmental objective; it is a political objective. In today's edition of The Irish Times, Mr. Harry McGee quoted a Green Party Deputy as saying "we cannot have a situation where we are extracting peat and causing greenhouse gas emissions". It shows the naivety and ignorance on this issue because this is not a matter of extracting peat or not. It is about whether we extract it in Ireland or somewhere else.

My questions relate to the mushroom industry. Does Mr. Lucas accept that at present, there is no viable alternative to horticultural peat for that sector? Does Mr. Lucas agree that if we move with the stated aims for the working group, which is his answer to all questions, namely, to see the elimination of the use of peat moss, the outworking for the peat industry is the export of the Irish mushroom industry or the import of horticultural peat? Does Mr. Lucas accept that defies environmental logic?

Does Mr. Lucas accept the requirements under horticultural peat extraction that 2,000 ha of 1.35 million ha of peatland in the country is enough to satisfy horticultural peat needs? Does Mr. Lucas's Department have any proposals in place to prevent the export of horticultural peat when we are having this conversation? To me, it defies absolute logic.