Ms Niamh Brennan:

We would share that concern. The coir is used as a substitute in the strawberry sector. It has been used for a number of years. The main substitute being put into peat alternatives now is woodchip, which is imported. You can treat woodchip but we would still have concerns about what could be in it. On the quality aspect, some of the amenity growers have trialled some of the alternatives and woodchip is not able to retain the moisture as much so we will be in a situation where more water is required to keep the plants alive. It is a work in progress but the disease pressure would be a concern for us.