Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and her officials. I agree with Deputy Fitzmaurice. It is hard for any sector to engage and to keep engaging because it is the same over and over again and every opening statement is nearly word for word what we got the last time. Nothing seems to change. I do not blame some of the sector at this stage for throwing their hands in the air when their businesses are on the line. There is a massive number of people employed in that sector. In terms of the actions being taken to resolve the issue and the concerns this committee has, the Minister of State admitted that a collaborative approach across the Departments is needed. I agree that this is what needed. How straightforward is that? How much further down the line are we from the last time the Minister of State was at this committee?

One of the things the Minister of State referred to the last time was this free for all extraction of peat. That kind of language is completely misrepresenting what this committee has agreed on. The sector is less than 1% of the amount of what is needed. This throwing out this free for all extraction is not painting a very good picture of the sector. Orla McManus of CMP told the committee that of its members, 45% of the spend they will have over the next seven years will be on the environment, the agri-environment and climate actions, that is, renewable energies, good water use and insulation. They are focused on what needs to be done but the problem is that the three Departments we keep trying to get to come into this committee to talk do not seem to be on the same wavelength as the people who are involved in it. It is very hard for any sector that is spending that kind of money to keep doing it when they can not say for certain that in three, six or nine months that they are still even going to be in business. The risk of them not being in business is caused by the dragging of the heels by the Departments. One of the Departments is the Minister of State's. That raises a question. If they are spending that kind of money and if they keep doing so, what is the pay off at the end of it for them? How much longer does the Minister of State think that those kinds of businesses can keep investing that kind of money when there is so much uncertainty?

I want to talk about the issue of extracting the minuscule amount of peat needed by the horticultural and mushroom sectors until there is an alternative found. I recently put a question to the Minister of State. I had to look at the response a couple of times and I would like the Minister of State to clarify it. Reference was made to short-term, medium-term and long-term responses to address the supply in horticulture. From the notes, short term had to do with the report on peat supply.

Séamus Boland's report was given to the Department and we are told it is due to be published shortly. We have it now. It is another report that will not go anywhere. I guarantee that.

On the medium-term actions, the Minister of State confirmed the report on the planning requirements for peat extraction on sub-30 ha bogs had been received by the Department and will be published shortly. Under long-term actions, the Minister of State mentioned that €1.6 million had been awarded. Representatives of these sectors are still appearing before this committee. At this stage, they could almost receive season tickets, like those available for the Aviva Stadium or Croke Park, because they are in and out of here so often trying to get answers from the committee and the Department. They are met with the same barriers every time they come in and every time they contact us. The Department may have a different approach when it is contacted and they may get answers from it but we find it hard after every session here to go back to them and tell them that something is moving.

I will put three issues to the Minister of State. First, from what she said about the measures that have been taken, none has had immediate results. Second, is it the case that there has been no interdepartmental engagement on the issue of extracting a minimum amount of peat until alternatives are found? Third, and I do not say this lightly, I think the Minister of State misrepresented the committee and the witnesses who appeared before it by referring to the recommendation about sourcing peat as a "free-for-all extraction" when it was clearly not the case. It is not personal but we say it in the committee every time we hold a meeting. It is like pulling teeth. It is like Groundhog Day. We are told the same thing in meeting after meeting. As I said, it must be frustrating for the sector because, by God, it is frustrating for us to keep hearing the same thing over and over from the Ministers.