Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State.

I wish to speak today on horticultural peat harvesting. This sector makes a major contribution to the Irish economy.

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There are 6,600 people directly employed in this industry and a further 11,000 in indirect employment. Many of those jobs are in the midlands, which have been particularly hard hit by industry closures and growing unemployment.

In 2018, the horticulture industry had a farm gate value of €437 million. It had exports valued at €229 million. Its employment value was just shy of €500 million at €497 million. Sectors directly supported by this industry include mushroom growing, vegetables, protected fruits, nursery stock and tree saplings. Its cost base would be greatly impacted by the proposed changes and it would put all those businesses under significant pressure.

The work this industry does has very little environmental impact in the grand scheme of things. Only 24% of total peatlands are used for horticulture peat harvesting. The CO₂emissions from horticulture peat harvesting are a mere 0.52% of potential Irish emissions for 2020.

Current legislation prohibits all peatland owners, including Bord na Móna, from carrying out any work whatsoever on bogs until planning permission is granted and a valid EP licence is received. As a result of that, Growing Media Ireland, GMI, and Bord na Móna ceased all peat harvesting on 16 June 2020. GMI and the industry are now in a legal limbo as to whether they can harvest peat moss for the industry. Failure to do so will result in this industry collapsing in the very near future, resulting in major job losses and economic output.

If this issue is not addressed by the relevant Department, this industry is facing the reality that it will run out of peat moss supply in Ireland by July 2021. If the industry is not permitted to harvest peat for horticulture, it will be imported from other parts of the EU. That does not make any sense, either economically or environmentally. As we speak, peat is being imported into this country. It is laughable in the extreme that we would import peat. How does it make sense to say we cannot have peat moss for the sector for environmental reasons but we can afford to ship it from other countries, which results in even more emissions and environmental impact? I call on the Minister of State to take a common sense approach. She should sit down with the industry, sort out these issues and save jobs.

I would like to quote from one paragraph in the report of the Just Transition Commissioner. It states:

... some fast-track, 'one-stop-shop' arrangement needs to be considered for planning, licensing and regulatory compliance. Greater cohesion and co-ordination needs to be developed. [He recommended] that this issue be addressed as a matter of urgency.

He stated that this will ensure a just transition that does not result in the destruction of local communities and will also ensure that measures are put in place to secure appropriate aftercare, including the rehabilitation of very valuable post-harvesting peatland habitats. I stress that the habitats that will exist after harvesting can also be greatly beneficial to the environment.

We are talking about a small proportion of Irish bogs but a vitally important industry to the country. If we do not allow harvesting in this country, we will completely undermine the cost base of the mushroom and the vegetable growing industries. They have enough problems with Brexit and trying to maintain access to the UK market but if we destroy their cost base in this fashion, they will find it virtually impossible to survive.

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