Ms Niamh Brennan:

Our position is that there is a bit of ambiguity around the sub-30 ha definition. If the sub-30 ha plot of land was part of a larger-scale bog that had already been exploited for horticulture for the production of peat, it would be beneficial to the sector because one would be using a bog that had already been utilised and the machinery, etc., would be in place. This would be better than starting on a virgin 30 ha bog, as they outline it to be, where one is unsure of the quality of the peat that would there, whether any infrastructure would be available in the locality or whether there would be any expertise to go into that. Therefore, we are in agreement with that. If the sub-30 ha plot of land was taken as part of a larger-scale bog, historically, that would be beneficial to the position at present.