Mr. Kieran Dunne:

I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to contribute. All our issues are similar to those of the speakers from GMI and CMP. On my notes, I have written the question, "Why have we not made progress in the past two years?". Senator Boyhan asked why we do not get political. We have, right throughout the country. I am speaking on behalf of Kildare Growers Group, whose members have been working together for the past 36 years. We comprise one of the most successful groups in Europe at this point. Over the past two years, we have been open, honest and committed and we have brought our experience to the table. We have been willing to engage and work with everybody to try to resolve the problem. We worked with all stakeholders to try to resolve the difficult position in which we find ourselves. It seems that all of our efforts have been in vain. Regardless of where we went and what we tried to do, we met a brick wall. We are not looking for any handouts but demanding that fair play and common sense prevail.

Why is it that two reports on peat are sitting on shelves and have been completely ignored over the past nine months, with no competent plan of action or timeline put in place? If I ran my business in this way, I would not be sitting in front of members today; I would be out of business. We now find ourselves in a much more difficult place than when we started on this journey. The action plan proposed by the Government following the publication of the reports is pathetic, useless and unworkable.

The action plan could have been written in playschool. The Department did not engage with our industry to draft that working plan. It beggars belief that this is the best that the Government can come up with in response to a crisis in the horticultural industry. At the end of my comments I will give the Senator the reason. Similar to the mushroom industry or any other horticultural industry to us within the amenity sector, that cost is the cost of peat and now we are being forced to buy inferior quality at hugely inflated prices.

I will tell members two other facts. This week I have been forced to buy from a Scottish company while large trucks that may not be owned by Bord na Móna are driving by my gate delivering thousands of tonnes per week to the Edenderry power plant. These are facts. It is fuel peat but how can that happen while we cannot get horticultural grade peat? The availability and cost of fertiliser will continue to cause major problems over the next 12 months. We all know about the power supply and the cost of electricity. Our packaging and pots have gone up by 30%. The cost of labour, when we can get it, has also gone up.

There is a good news story in my rural community. I hired a 19-year-old guy this week on a full-time basis. I hired an engineer before the pandemic until he is ready to move on and he is still with me, getting paid good money. He is a fully qualified college certified engineer. There is huge competition from all over Europe such as from our Dutch colleagues. The market in Eastern Bloc countries is not as good as it was, so they will dump product on Ireland, England or wherever they can get a market. The Government is playing lip service to the horticultural industry, which we find incredibly insulting. We are people who work hard in rural communities. It is no different from dairy farming. We must work day and night to cover our crop seven days a week. We are worth millions of euro to the Exchequer. We employ large numbers in rural communities, which we are proud of, as well as providing a stunning stock of Irish grown plants. I reiterate that we have stunning material the context of nursery stock and plants, both vegetable and amenity, in rural communities supplying towns, villages, cities and markets throughout the country. We are as green as can be. We do not burn peat. The trucks that pass by my gate carry peat that is going to be burned. The truckload of peat that comes into my nursery is to grow plants for gardens, estates and to beautify towns and cities. We deserve better. We expect and demand better. If the Government does not take urgent, immediate action, honest and fair, our industry faces real problems. As other speakers said, we need a template, an action plan and a timeline for harvesting of sub 30 ha.

We also need strong, committed leadership from the Government to resolve this incompetent mess. I will go back to the Senator and tell him why. With hand on heart I can say that I am disgusted that there is nobody here from the Departments responsible to answer our questions. We at Kildare Growers Group have no confidence in the Ministers, Deputies Noonan, Hackett and Ryan, to resolve this situation any time soon. Their poor performance over the past 18 months has been pathetic. They do not listen and do not want to listen. They are following their own agenda, namely that we all buy into the environment. We are a green industry. I love the environment. I live in a rural community and I appreciate and protect the environment. However, they do not listen and they have done sweet damn all to help our industry.

We will not get answers today. The committee is, and has been, fully committed to our industry but when the Ministers will not turn up to answer questions here, what hope have we of getting them to answer our questions?

I am passionate about what we do. We are successful at what we do. However we cannot take any more.