Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That last point about what was the understanding at the time is critical. I should not say or go as far as saying the company asserts it was seduced into a contract at the time with Bord na Móna and that it now is in difficulty. Bord na Móna insists this is not the way it happened and since I came into the Chamber, I have received a communication from JHM Crops Limited, to the effect that contact is ongoing right up to today between the company and my office about what, if anything, I can do to pull it out of the fire, no pun intended. The difficulty is that it is a private contract between the growers and JHM Crops Limited, the company acting as middleman which organises the farmers and transports the miscanthus to the plant in the midlands. The difficulty is that at present, that contract is not rewarding the company for the costs of the enterprise involved. Even were Bord na Móna to enter REFIT 3 in six months' time, the difference would not be adequate to maintain any kind of viable margin for JHM Crops Limited. I also have spoken to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine about this issue because, as Deputy Moynihan has noted, 300 farmers have been given an expectation, which is a serious matter, apart entirely from the company that acts as the go-between being at risk. Consequently, I am discussing this matter with my colleague, the aforementioned Minister. It is a very difficult issue when it comes down to a private commercial contract entered into between two parties and the role of the State in this is minimal, if it exists at all. On the point Deputy Moynihan raises, the problem is that even were Bord na Móna to enter REFIT 3 as soon as may be, the difference would be very small. As I noted, the discussion still is ongoing and I would like to see a solution to this issue.

There are issues about which the Deputy will be aware relating to the merits of miscanthus compared to willow, what miscanthus does to the plant, the chlorine problem that arises and so on but that is neither here nor there. There was or there was not a contract. It seems difficult to see where either the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine or my Department can intrude to force Bord na Móna to do something if it thinks it is not in line with the contract or with its own commercial interests. There is a dispute as to what happened when the original contract came into being.

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