Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

That is why we supported some 39 projects on which the Just Transition Commissioner, Kieran Mulvey, had worked with local communities. There was concern that some of these projects might not be able to qualify for funding approved by European institutions but, from what I hear, that will not be a problem for the vast majority. We will spend and invest that money and we will support Bord na Móna in its switch from brown to green. It rightly recognises that the skills it has in managing bogs can be used in this low-carbon future and that we can create employment, energy and industry on the back of that.

Peat extraction is a very significant environmental issue but it is not an issue of export. The vast majority of our peat was always exported. Most of the peat extracted for horticultural use was used by Dutch and UK growers. We have to make sure that the mushroom and horticultural industries here survive and thrive and I believe they will. We will have to look at a variety of different solutions, including the use of imported products, and look for new substitutes but the real opportunity in the midlands-----

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