Mr. Paddy Gleeson:

I have been involved with the amenity sector almost since its inception 40 or 50 years ago when the industry was small. It has grown into a substantial business employing quite a substantial workforce, as has been outlined by other speakers. The total employment across the horticultural sector is approximately 17,000 people. It is sad to see an industry that employs so many people and is so valuable considering the volume of peat that is being used. The horticultural industry for amenity, soft root and vegetables uses 131,000 m3 of peat compared with the Netherlands, which uses in excess of 4 million m3 of peat which is all imported. The industry is worth €6.6 billion in the Netherlands. The volume of peat we use means our impact is minimal. As has been stated many times, the volume used for horticulture in Ireland is 0.12% of the total Irish peat lands. Historically, before the 2019 legislation 90% of the peat extracted was for energy use. The remaining 10% was for horticultural use. As Mr. Dunne stated, peat is still being transported from two Kildare bogs to an energy station close by.

Looking at the research and at the future, the nursery industry is environmentally conscious in respect of the impact of the carbon footprint and climate change and so on. It is looking at all options and reducing additives by approximately 30% at the present time. Research was carried out in the Netherlands and published recently by the Thünen Institute entitled, Peat Replacement in horticultural growing media: Availability of bio-based alternative materials, working paper No.190/2022. That research found that by volume for professional horticulture the maximum percentage of alternatives in peat compost for wood fibres is 40%; 50% for composted bark; 40% for green compost and 100% for coir pith. The current research states that we are a bit away yet from going much further than those percentages outlined. Hopefully, the €1.7 million that was allocated to Teagasc for research will prove fruitful in the long term but it will take time. If we look at what is happening in the UK, peat use has been extended for retail to 2024 and for commercial horticulture to 2028. The National Farmers' Union, NFU, which represents the British horticultural sector, has stated that it is not confident that there will be alternatives for peat by the end of the decade. It recommends that exemptions be made for commercial horticulture.

I will make one other point on the problems. In recent times, I have spoken to a number of nursery people who are very frustrated. I spoke to one person last week who told me that the peat being supplied is of inferior quality compared with what was previously supplied because it is coming from smaller units. There is a lot of debris, timber and other alternatives in the compost. It is nowhere near the quality of what was supplied by Bord na Móna and others previously. Not only does the nursery industry have problems in acquiring peat, but it also has a problem growing with the compost available at the moment. Someone needs to move fast and sort out this problem otherwise a rural industry employing large numbers of people in rural parts of Ireland will leave the industry. It will be a sad day if a nursery stock industry vanishes from the face of the earth. That is what will happen if action is not taken urgently.