Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Senator Pippa Hackett):

I accept we need compliance in the sector. We need extractors to work in a regulated and legal fashion. That is why we have appointed the two planning experts to help the Departments and stakeholders to achieve that, if possible. We have no guarantees about what is possible. We have always imported peat. I agree we import more than we should. We are a net exporter of peat and have been for a long time.

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