Mr. Brian Rushe:

I want to make a brief comment before I hand over to Ms Brennan. We are equally frustrated with regard to the lack of movement there and we appreciate the work done by this committee on this issue. It is very much appreciated. You pull your hair out thinking that importing peat from eastern Europe while your are sitting in the middle of a bog is not reason enough to allow it to be used, let alone looking for another reason on top of that.

I understand where the Senator is coming from. The key frustration of our guys is that they are importing containers of this stuff legally - totally allowed, and encouraged, we would say - while a domestic product, on our doorstep, is closed up. The volumes are small. It is a clear example of ideology getting in the way of reality. I want to be clear. We understand the importance of those bogs and their value but you cannot pull the rug from under an industry and a key input and expect the solution to come straight away. Ms. Brennan might make another comment.