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Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Mr. Ger Breen: I cannot answer for ICL and whether it will import peat. For clarification, I did not say previously ICL would not be importing peat.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Mr. Ger Breen: About 75,000 tonnes went to the UK subsidiary. The 252,000 tonnes to which the Deputy referred relates to professional-grade peat as opposed to retail peat, so we are not comparing like with like.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Michael Collins: Okay. What is the status of getting Irish peat to Irish growers to allow the realistic transition to non-peat crop growing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I am referring to the letter we received from Mr. Breen. I cannot see a date on it. It states the horticultural peat exported amounted to 252,000 tonnes per annum in the years up to 2020. Mr. Breen is saying additional lower-grade peat was also exported by Bord na Móna in those years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Mr. Ger Breen: I did not say there are sufficient stocks. Some of the professional peat from Bord na Móna will be used with other ingredients. The plant facility at Coolnamona is more than capable of meeting the needs of the Irish professional growers for the coming season, depending on what peat they can source from private producers in Ireland.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I want to return to the stockpile of 200,000 tonnes of high-grade peat. I do not have the same knowledge as Deputy Fitzmaurice and others on this matter so excuse me if the questions seem naive. Could our guests give an explanation as to why or how 2,000 tonnes of peat would be extracted and left sitting there?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I am trying to get a semblance of understanding as to the merits of this deal vis-à-vis the stated objectives of the working group report. To return to the 2,000 tonnes or so of peat that is sitting in a mound, will Bord na Móna remove that peat from the bog prior to ICL taking control or will the company thereafter take care of the extraction?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: What does Mr. Breen see filling the vacuum for the other 85%? I am going by the figures he has mentioned. I am talking about what happens when someone is not dealing with somebody. Peat is different. For example, smaller peat producers have different markets. Does it look like it will be imported? If you have someone else buying something from you, you will not head down the road and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: ...of the High Court decision and a more recent High Court decision involving a separate company, would Mr. Breen's interpretation of those judgments be the same as mine, such that even after the peat has been harvested, for it then to be collected would amount to a subsequent act of harvesting and would also require planning permission? If not, is it Mr. Breen's view that ICL will be able...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

...into a lease agreement with ICL in respect of the growing media mixing facility at the Cúil na Móna facility. We also have reached agreement to supply 2,000 tonnes of professional horticultural peat. Third, we will work with the independent expert and with ICL, and with other producers in this area, to establish whether there is other peat within our stocks that may be suitable...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: ...of State when that expert will be appointed. Notwithstanding that, Bord na Móna has engaged on the contract with ICL, as was mentioned. Our guests mentioned ICL would also be sourcing peat from private sources other than Bord na Móna. It was indicated such peat would be sourced domestically. Are our guests aware of any bog, whether less than 30 ha in size or not, that has a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: ...have learned is that Bord na Móna has entered into an agreement with what I believe is an Israeli-owned company based primarily in the UK – ICL – and has given it exclusive access to the only peat that we have a figure for, that being the 2,000 tonnes of high-grade horticultural peat, before engaging with the independent expert that the working group, commissioned by the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: The answer is that Mr. Breen does not have specific figures. Regarding high-grade horticultural peat, he used the term "around 2,000 tonnes". Is there a percentage figure?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Mr. Ger Breen: We sell professional horticultural peat in cubic volumes. From a weight perspective, it is estimated to be 2,000 tonnes. There may be a discrepancy of 5% to 7%.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: In terms of hobby or other peat, I take it that Mr. Breen cannot give a specific figure for weights.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: The announcement of this agreement indicated the peat use will be for the domestic market alone. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: What safeguards will Bord na Móna have in place in the contractual arrangements to ensure that peat cannot be exported to subsidiaries of ICL or to other third parties outside of Ireland?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: Many of those producers currently get their peat from Bord na Móna. Is that not the case?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: On the agreement and this stock of 2,000 tonnes, how much of that high-grade peat is located in storage and how much is on the bogs?