Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will further deal with that in summing up. I thank the witnesses. We wish Mr. Lucas well in his retirement. When Mr. Lucas was in before the committee he was paid compliments by a number of committee members, which is rare enough for a civil servant. Mr. Lucas has a long and proud record. We wish him well in his retirement.

The vast majority of people would agree that rewetting of bogs can have great environmental benefits. For the adjoining farmers, however, the Department has said that it wants to proceed with agreement. But the downside, disadvantages or problems for a farmer might not appear for 12 months, two years or three years. The effects on a water table, for example, most definitely would not be seen overnight. Can a protocol be put in place whereby if a farmer has issues appearing in any period of time after the rewetting of the bogs, those issues would be addressed? That would go a long way to addressing the fears farmers have about the rewetting. One could agree to it now, and everything would be grand at the moment, but somewhere down the road the rewetting could have a seriously negative impact on the productivity of neighbouring land. It would be greatly appreciated if a protocol could be put in place with a mechanism to deal with any ongoing issues, with a guarantee to the landowners that they would be dealt with to his or her satisfaction.

On the issue of horticultural peat, the committee had a meeting some months ago when Mr. Lucas gave a presentation. We were told that the working group would report in early to mid-April on the harvesting of horticultural peat. We are now in the last week of May and we still have not had the report. I would like it to go back to the Department that the committee is seeking an immediate update on that. I am getting calls constantly from people who have private bogs and who want to cut horticultural peat. The year is slipping by very quickly. As Senator Paul Daly has said, it is environmental and economic madness to be doing what is happening at the moment. Earlier in the year, this committee got a commitment that we would have an interim report on that aspect. My firm recollection is that we were told it would be with us by early to mid-April. I would like a written update to our members as quickly as possible. This is a huge issue, on which we were given commitments that have not been adhered to. I will speak to the committee secretariat when this meeting is finished and we will put a letter to the Minister to that effect. I want the witnesses to relay back to the Department that we need a written submission to us as soon as possible. I will also ask the Minister. We need that report. It is at least six weeks late at this stage.

I thank the witnesses for their answers today. They will understand the frustration of the committee with regard to horticultural peat. It is a huge issue out there in our constituencies. The witnesses were not in a position to fully brief us on it and while I do not hold the witnesses responsible it was frustrating for the committee.

We will suspend for a minute or two while we move to our next session.