Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 6 July 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Martin BrowneMartin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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As Mr. Dunne mentioned, one of the difficulties is down to the fact that there are three Departments involved - Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Environment, Climate and Communications, and Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Has any of them been more forthcoming in trying to address the witnesses' concerns or are they being ignored equally by all three?

Last month, the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, stated that the working group had submitted the interim report to the Department and that the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, subsequently wrote back to the working group. According to GMI's submission to us, the working group was still awaiting a detailed response to the report. Has there been progress towards the urgent action required? Had the Minister of State any light to shed on the report's contents or was his just a letter of acknowledgement? What can the working group tell the Government that GMI or the rest of the sector has not told it? GMI has told us of the impact of the peat ban, what growers need and the outlook for the sector.