Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I first raised concerns in this House regarding the availability of peat to the Irish horticultural sector, in particular, the mushroom sector, in July 2020. I was told by the then Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine that his Department was working as part of a cross-departmental group evaluating the use of peat in the commercial horticultural sector. At that point, the problems were evident. The scandalous situation whereby huge quantities of Irish peat had been exported was to be replaced by an equally scandalous situation whereby peat would be imported. In September 2020, I was informed by the current Minister, Deputy McConalogue, that following the report of the cross-departmental group, the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, had set up a working group to consider the impacts on the sector. Then, over the following ten months, while a sector with a farm gate value of almost €500 million and supporting nearly 18,000 jobs held its breath, I submitted countless questions to Ministers, including the Ministers for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Environment, Climate and Communications, and Housing, Local Government and Heritage, seeking basic information that farmers were crying out for. I asked whether just transition funds would be made available to offset increased costs. I asked if any Minister was taking action to ensure a regulatory framework that would allow for peat harvesting would be put in place. I also asked if the report of the working group would be published, when it would be published and why it was delayed. I must say that trying to get any information from the Ministers was like trying to get blood out of a stone. In fact, most of the information I got came from media reports. At that time, the question I was most commonly but quietly asked was where the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine was in all of this.

I have to ask that question again now. I think the Minister is in the other House right now. Over the past month, Sinn Féin has sought Dáil debates on this issue each and every week and each request has been refused by Government. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine sought a joint hearing with three Ministers that have responsibility in this area, namely, the Ministers for the Environment, Climate and Communications, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the Minister of State at that Department, Deputy Noonan. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Minister of State indicated they would attend only if the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications was present. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications refused to attend, so no hearing has taken place. None of the Ministers who have a role in resolving this issue are here for this Topical Issue debate, and there are enough of them. They include the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Ministers of State at his Department, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Ministers of State at his Department, and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Ministers of State at his Department. None of them could make themselves available for this debate. That is very telling, as has been the Government response to the independent report that it commissioned. The Government has actually set aside some of the report's most significant findings and recommendations, including the finding that there are currently no viable alternatives to the continued use of peat moss in the horticultural and mushroom sectors, and that emergency legislation was required before the end of last year to deliver a regulatory framework that would allow for some harvesting of peat moss in areas where there is no alternative. The working paper produced has done very little to instil confidence that progress is being made. The plain fact is that the current regulatory framework is unworkable, as found by the independent report.

It is important to state that we all recognise that environmental law must be adhered to. What is being sought is a framework in which that law works. In other EU member states, peat can be harvested for horticultural purposes in line with EU laws. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications has told me that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is now responsible for this issue. I want to know whether the Government, having essentially sat out this crisis for the past two years, is ready to take action.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Carthy for raising this important matter, which I am happy to take on behalf of the Minister, Deputy McConalogue. As the Deputy is aware, extraction of peat for the Irish professional horticultural industry in recent years has been challenging from both a legal and regulatory perspective. A series of High Court judgments, beginning in the early 2010s, which dealt with peat extraction and lack of compliance across the extraction sector, has generated supply challenges, both in respect of volume and price, for the horticulture sector which continues to rely on peat as a raw growing material.

I want to highlight the importance of the horticultural sector and its significant contribution to the economy, with a farm gate value of almost €469 million in 2020. The horticultural sector is the fourth largest sector in agriculture in terms of output value. An estimated 17,600 people are employed in the sector in both primary level and value added downstream. Approximately 60% of the value of Irish horticulture is dependent on peat as a growth medium, with the mushroom, amenity and soft fruit sectors being most reliant.

The working paper to address challenges related to peat supply in the horticulture sector was put in place by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in conjunction with the Departments of the Environment, Climate and Communications and Housing, Local Government and Heritage, following the publication of the final report of the working group on the use of peat moss in the horticultural industry. The paper sets out a series of joint actions which have been put in place to alleviate the difficulties being faced by horticultural growers who are dependent on peat as a growing medium. The actions include a range of targeted measures which reflect the multifaceted nature of the problem and the subsequent need for short-, medium- and long-term solutions. These actions were developed to address the short-term issue of peat supply, the medium-term issue of future access to peat and the longer term issue of replacement with alternatives. The ultimate ambition is to support the horticulture industry, the people employed and the many families that depend on this important sector.

As we know, peat is a finite resource and there is an acknowledgement of the need to transition to more sustainable growing media. Most amenity horticulture growers are now using reduced peat levels in growing substrate, where the peat is blended with material such as bark fibre at levels of between 10% and 30%. I welcome the general agreement across the horticulture industry that the use of peat should be phased out by 2030, or 2035 at the latest, providing alternative materials where available. However, there is also a recognition that a very limited amount of peat may be required for a period in certain sectors, in particular, professional horticulture, until alternatives are available, affordable and sustainable and meet quality, environmental and productivity requirements for the horticulture sector. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has continued to highlight the importance of transitional peat supply and to assist in considering solutions to this issue. In doing so, the working paper and associated actions put in place, led by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, will support Irish horticultural growers who are dependent on peat until viable alternatives are found. The Deputy mentioned the implementation of the working paper. Progress has been made on the implementation of the actions in the working paper to address challenges related to horticultural peat supply.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I must put on record that I will be asking the Ceann Comhairle to review the Topical Issue debate procedure. Perhaps the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will let the Ceann Comhairle know that. I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan. She has a very important role in her own right. However, there is no way that we can describe this as a debate. Regardless of what I ask in my follow-up contribution, the Minister of State will read a prepared statement. That is not a debate and it is not an acceptable way for Departments to behave, particularly when we are dealing with an issue that could genuinely put entire businesses out of work.

As I mentioned, this issue crosses three Departments. For more than two years, they have essentially been dodging responsibility among themselves over what has become a real and existential crisis in the mushroom sector, as I am very aware. We had a bizarre situation where Government Senators from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael produced legislation in the Seanad and then had to remove it because they could not get the support of their Government colleagues. The inaction and indifference of Government has meant the mushroom sector, those who work in it and the communities that depend on it are facing an existential threat due to the shortage of horticultural peat. The problem has not been resolved and shows no signs of being resolved, despite what the Minister has said.

The sector needs peat. The Government set up a working group. It commissioned a report, granted an extension to the report, considered the report and then proceeded to ignore large portions of it.

If action is not taken, we will see the further importation of huge shipments of peat from the far side of Europe - it is bizarre, frankly - where we have no environmental oversight whatsoever, rather than the limited extraction of peat the sector is seeking in order to allow those in the sector to continue in business until alternatives to peat are found. The language is right but the actions need to be there. I know it is not the responsibility of the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, but, frankly, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, needs to step up to the mark and be willing to engage in debate on this issue.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy acknowledged, this issue is not within my remit but, nevertheless, I was happy to take it for the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, who is indisposed. I hear the Deputy's frustration regarding the lack of information. Perhaps I should say the alleged lack of information because obviously I am not up to speed with the minutiae of this issue. I do know, however, the key importance of the professional horticulture industry to Irish jobs, the economy and our food safety and security. I reassure the Deputy the Government is working as a priority to assist the horticultural industry in resolving the issues in respect of peat harvesting and managing the difficult but necessary transition away from the widespread use of peat for horticultural purposes in the coming years.

I have taken a note of the Deputy's remarks in respect of emergency legislation to provide a regulatory framework, as well as the fact that he mentioned the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan. I will speak to them and let them know the Deputy has raised this issue. It is clear that any realistic solution needs to find a workable interim arrangement to allow the Irish horticultural industry to operate while alternatives to the widespread use of peat are identified and put in place. I am aware there are no simple solutions to something like this but I reassure the Deputy that the Government is committed to exploring every opportunity to alleviate the difficulties for growers, their businesses and their families during this period of transition away from the use of peat. I will certainly bring his comments to the three Ministers and it is to be hoped they will revert back to the Deputy on the issue.