Results 6,941-6,960 of 11,413 for speaker:Matt Carthy

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

Matt Carthy: Mr. Breen mentioned there are specific stocks for the needs of horticultural use in the country at the moment?

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)

Matt Carthy: What types of machines will be used?

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

Matt Carthy: Mr. Breen is satisfied planning permission will not be required for that activity.

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

Matt Carthy: I will ask for two short points of clarification on some remarks Deputy Leddin made. He welcomed the fact Bord na Móna is working with an independent expert. For clarification of our earlier engagement, am I correct in saying our guests have not, in fact, interacted with the independent expert and do not know whether an independent expert has been appointed yet?

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

Matt Carthy: Following on from another remark made by Deputy Leddin, am I correct that none of the peat Bord na Móna has in stock is suitable for the needs of the mushroom industry?

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

Matt Carthy: There has been no engagement with an independent expert. We have not yet had the opportunity to ask the Minister or the Ministers 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...

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

Matt Carthy: From where does Mr. Breen suspect ICL will be sourcing peat, on top of the Bord na Móna stockpiles?

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

Matt Carthy: Okay. I find that quite unbelievable, as a statement. Is Mr. Breen still satisfied with his earlier remarks to the effect he does not believe ICL will be importing peat for the plant at Coolnamona? Is it in fact the case that we will see an increase in the number of ships landing in Belfast and elsewhere each week? Was that considered in the decision-making at all?

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

Matt Carthy: What is Mr. Breen's position? Does he believe ICL will be importing peat?

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

Matt Carthy: In that case, whether ICL will import peat did not play a part in Bord na Móna's decision when reaching an agreement with ICL.

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: My apologies.

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

Matt Carthy: In what years were the stockpiled peat harvested?

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

Matt Carthy: Are we talking about the past five years?

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

Matt Carthy: But it could be up to five years ago.

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

Matt Carthy: Perhaps Mr. Breen will provide us with a written response on the years in which the peat was extracted.

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

Matt Carthy: Indeed. Bord na Móna has been diminishing its stockpile. It was exporting over 250 kilotonnes per year up to 2020. How much of this peat would have gone to its subsidiaries in the UK or elsewhere?

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

Matt Carthy: I know that, but that does not answer the question I asked. How much of the 250,000 tonnes per annum went to Bord na Móna’s subsidiaries?

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.