Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to come to the meeting. I listened to our guests' presentations in my office. I heard most of what they said. Like all the other members of the committee, I have heard it many times now. What is going on is a scandal. We are talking about 17,000 jobs in total. There is also a spin-off to the local economy, in the shops and whatever else, including the pubs at night time. If people in these areas become unemployed, the money they are able to spend will not be around. It is a shame and disgrace to think that these fellows - and I have no problem in naming the Minister and his Green Party - who are purporting to advocate green policies and whatever else are happy to buy peat in other parts of Europe and bring it into the country on boats, from which smoke is whistling into the clouds. The peat is then offloaded with more machines, transferred to 200 lorries and delivered around the country. Perhaps not all of us went to university but we are educated enough to know there are carbon emissions from every vehicle that moves. In many cases, we are trying to keep vehicles running because we need them, but this need not be happening at the level and to the extent it is happening.

What are our guests asking for? They have said there are no Government guidelines, and that is clear. They are asking that they be allowed seek permission to operate on areas of less than 30 ha. The Government is fudging and will not even come before the committee. It is an absolute disgrace. It is bad enough to think that three Ministers, Ministers of State or some other representative cannot come in because they are so bloody busy. What about the officials who know this meeting has been arranged for weeks? They cannot come to the meeting to listen to the concerns that our guests have put together well. I compliment them for how they have made the case for what they need. It is a disgrace. I think of the grand people who provide a horticultural service, such as the Shannons of Farranfore, the Hickeys of Boherboy and the Falveys of Glenbeigh. They are fine people who are doing their best and employing people, and we are jeopardising all of that.

Our guests are only asking for a short- or medium-term solution. They will then be going down some other route, and I am not happy with that. If anyone thinks I do not know the difference between white, brown and black turf, I do. I know what our guests are talking about and I understand it. Every day of every year since I became able to walk, I have been in a bog somewhere, whether in our own bogs, other bogs, or whatever. I understand fine what our guests are talking about. It is a fright to God. We do not have diamonds, gold or any other thing. They will not less us drill for oil, gas or whatever else. The one thing we have is peat and they will not allow us to use 0.1% of the bogland of Ireland. We have a Government that is supposed to be called a Government. The Green Party tail is wagging the Government dog. That is what is happening. There were certainly other options open to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste when they were forming the Government but they were hell bent on joining with the Green Party the very minute the count was over. Whether they realise it or not, they will suffer for it because they had other options but they were hell bent on joining with the Green Party.

We were here before and we are here now. We are very sorry for our guests. We understand their concerns. Do our guests expect part of the industry to close down? For how much longer can they keep going the way we are going now?