Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am raising this issue for a number of reasons. The first is the fact that workers on the ground within our horticultural sector feel as though decisions on access to horticultural peat have been seen as a done deal. It is felt as though now that the furore over the issue has abated, the Government feels as though it is business as usual and the sector has been left to pick up the pieces and carry on. That was the distinct impression a representative of the sector got after confronting a junior Minister at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine about the issue. The operator felt sidelined and ignored and was more or less told that the Department hoped it had weathered the storm and could move on. In the same way, the working paper compiled by three Departments totally ignored the recommendations of the working group on the use of peat moss in the horticultural industry. That was a pivotal moment, and is the second reason for me raising the matter.

Following a series of delays, the final report of the working group on the use of peat moss in the horticultural industry was published. It was more or less ignored, despite many sensible recommendations being set out in the report. The possibility of developing primary legislation to resolve the dual issues of the planning and harvesting of peat for horticultural purposes has been effectively dismissed, despite the working group's recommendations to do so. Instead, guidance on the regulation of peat extraction in Ireland was to be provided. The working group outlined that growers are reporting that they are being quoted prices for imported peat in 2022 more than 45% more expensive for volume purchasing, and that prices are likely to rise even further for smaller customers. This was ignored as well. At the time, I said that serious questions needed to be answered about whether the three Departments with responsibility for the issue were only ever intent on following their own preconceived plans of action, rather than taking the work of the group chaired by Dr. Munoo Prasad seriously. Those questions were not answered per se, but the response to the report spoke volumes. Research into peat alternatives is all well and good, but when the sector is suddenly left without a stable ingredient, research is of limited benefit, as its needs are immediate. Operators in the sector say that they should have seen the Minister of State's colleagues in the Green Party as natural comrades. Instead, a sector that has offset more carbon than any other was targeted with a brush that gave no recognition whatsoever to the contribution it makes and the potential it has in carbon offsetting. Its needs have been met with the granting of a tiny amount of the area of land traditionally used for peat extraction. Instead, we have seen tonnes of peat imported into this country in a way that expels far more carbon than would ever be needed.

I ask the Minister to State to outline what progress has been made in providing alternatives to the sector. Did the 2,000 tonnes of peat that Bord na Mona stated was to be sold to the highest bidder actually go to the sector? We were told that we had 2,000 tonnes of peat that is suitable for professional growers. Are we starting with the 2,000-tonne stockpile that we were told about? I ask the Minister of State to confirm whether the recommendations of the working group on developing primary legislation to resolve the dual issues of the planning and harvesting of peat for horticultural purposes have been cosigned to history, or whether work to pursue it is happening.

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