Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Part of the problem is that all these reports, surveys and the whole lot are going no place. I am quite sure the Minister of State will have watched the committee meeting on 7 October or someone will have informed her what happened there. There is deep frustration in the sector because of the lack of the three Departments working together. We have been looking for months for the three Departments to come in front of the agriculture committee and we still cannot even get a meeting with them. The Minister of State can imagine the frustration of those in the industry who are depending on them to come together. There are thousands of jobs at risk. There just does not seem to be any rush with the Government.

The Minister of State can quote the KPMG report but the report said that in the short term there is still need for domestic peat until alternatives are available. There is another report just sitting on a desk that is no good for anything. At the same time, we have a Green Party in government that is allowing 200 trucks load a ship 3,000 miles away, bring the peat across and allow another 200 trucks to unload it here and distribute it around the country. So much for the carbon footprint.

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