Ms Deirdre Fay:

I thank the Senator. The Beyond Peat project started on 1 February this year. It is at the early, discovery stage of the research. As the Minister of State said, the project is co-ordinated by the Teagasc horticultural development department. The Department is in close contact with Teagasc about the project. A stakeholder engagement meeting is taking place tomorrow, which Teagasc has organised. It is a growth media stakeholder meeting for the Beyond Peat project.

On the Senator's comment about expectations of a roadmap for the sector, the Food Vision Group 2030 recognised the value of the Irish horticulture sector as the fourth largest agriculture sector in Ireland and called for a strategy to set out a roadmap for the industry up to 2030 focusing on economic, environmental and social sustainability. As a first step in the development of that strategy, the KPMG report on opportunities for the Irish horticulture sector was published in July this year, providing an overview of the current context for the horticulture industry and the state of play in each of the seven sectors including field crops, protected crops, soft fruit, top fruit, amenity, potatoes, and mushrooms.

It identified a number of actions that could help address cross-cutting factors affecting the sector. Access to peat and peat replacement were one of the factors addressed. Recently we had a very productive meeting of the horticulture industry forum on 26 October, which was co-chaired by Minister of State, Senator Hackett, and the forum chair, Mr. Brian O'Reilly, where challenges facing the sector were discussed, including challenges around access to peat and alternatives to peat-based growing media. A public consultation on the actions identified in the report is now under way via an online survey which closes on 30 November, and the online survey will enable a broader consultation process and allow participants to assess and prioritise the cross-cutting factors and the actions according to their perspectives. Submissions received will feed into and inform a strategic roadmap to develop a more profitable, value-added sector.