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

Members and the Department officials will know I have been concerned about this issue, as all of us have been, especially since the early part of 2020. I have to say I am getting to the point where I am frightened for the mushroom industry in my county, as has been referenced. It is hugely important to our local economy and I am frightened because the opening statements we have before us appear to point to inaction and procrastination and I fear that will result in the mushroom industry in Ireland, as we know it, moving somewhere else. Probably across the water. I am also frightened as to what that will mean in the long term for anyone who is genuinely concerned about climate action because the position we are in, as I have said on countless occasions, is built upon tokenism and hypocrisy because this is not being done to preserve or protect the environment. This is to give a semblance that we are doing something.

To summarise the statements we had, in fairness to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, its opening statement outlines in a very fair way the crux of the issues. It recognises that there is difficulty but, essentially, it says the Department cannot do anything about it. The statement from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage acknowledges that there are issues at play and goes through in detail some of the steps that have been taken in terms of working groups and review reports. It mentions that an interim report indicates that there is general agreement among the members that peat should be available for the professional horticultural sector until the target date of 2030 and a maximum date of 2035. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications essentially says that there is no problem at all and that this is an issue that is 27 years old. If I was depending on a job in the sector and I saw that on my laptop, the laptop would be out the window. It is frustrating that the Department is basically saying that this is all the industry's fault and there is nothing to see here in terms of the Department.

The question has been asked a couple of times and it has not been answered yet. We are facing an immediate problem in August. This is not a problem that we were not aware of; we have been aware of it for some time. The action that was warranted has not been taken to deal with the potential crisis we face. What do each of the three Departments see as the solution for them to resolve the crisis we face in the short term?