Results 1-20 of 24 for peat speaker:Micheál Martin

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Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 May 2024)

Micheál Martin: ...available under the national fund by the end of 2024 while the EU fund will provide up to €169 million until 2027, so that is a longer-term transition for the region. That arises from the end of commercial peat extraction and peat-fired power generation. I will certainly examine and reflect on what the Deputy has said. Just transition has to become just transformation...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 May 2024)

Micheál Martin: ...from the region. I will talk to fellow Ministers about the issue because we want just transition to be effective and successful. We need to transform the counties that were affected the most by the removal of peat-fired power stations and so on. Most people in the region agree that they were never going to be the future but the area does require and deserve replacement investment and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: ...management of arable fallow. It will also touch on climate measures around water quality and reducing chemical nitrogen usage. Actions to be taken through ACRES will include catch crops, low-input peat grassland and the planting of trees. All of that will make a significant contribution to the achievement of the agricultural measures under the land use change and forestry chapter of the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Apr 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thought the aromatic flavour of wine was more berry-like and that whiskey was more peat-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Apr 2022)

Micheál Martin: There will be no restrictions on people who own their own bogs and use turf in their domestic fire or share it with neighbours. There is no ban on the gifting of peat by those with rights to harvest sod peat. What Deputy McDonald needs to be very careful of is the fact that the big issue here is the coal industry; that is the big villain of the piece here. Back in the early 1990s, the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: ...of contingency planning on a number of fronts in the context of potential repercussions from the escalation of the crisis and the resulting impact on fuel supplies, cost and so forth. In terms of peat, that was not a Government decision. The courts decided what was going on was not legally valid or correct.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----in terms of utilising bogs of a certain size to source the peat for-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Social Partnership Meetings (15 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: ...that €6 million has already been spent on the Mullingar to Longford road. I will again talk to the Minister about making sure we can get continued progress on that. I will come back to Deputy Cahill on the issue he raised regarding the harvesting of peat. There have been legal impediments because of the European directives, court cases and so on, which have proved very problematic...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (19 Jan 2022)

Micheál Martin: ..., my focus now, with the other Ministers, is to get something moving on this. We need to get action on helping the horticultural sector and the mushroom sector and to ensure there is adequate peat available to those sectors.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Programme for Government (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: ...will continue to work on that and the Government will keep it under review in terms of more bespoke models to support those who may still be under pressure in the current situation. Regarding peat, let me be clear that the Government cannot break the law and cannot advocate breaking the law.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Programme for Government (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: This involved court actions. People never tell the straight story here. The courts arbitrated on peat and anything we do must be in line with EU directives and EU environmental law.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: ...of the land, which took decisions which resulted in the situation that we are in now. Court decisions and litigation have led us to this unsatisfactory situation in respect of the importation of peat. I accept that it does not make any sense on any yardstick that peat should be imported. I have spoken to all the Ministers involved and there will be engagement between all of us, which I...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: ...Carthy and Durkan that a working group has been established by the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Noonan, to examine the future role of peat in the horticultural sector in relation to the long-term solution for peat alternatives for horticultural purposes. I am told that, in the interim, existing stocks are available to meet current...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jan 2021)

Micheál Martin: ...of our broader health. The impact of poor quality air on respiratory health is enormous, particularly on children and their future life chances and lifespan. I will engage with the Deputy on the peat issue. There are issues around that but we will do everything we can to help those working in the industry. I take the Deputy's point on fuel poverty. That is why a significant...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I take on board what the Deputy says and I will inquire further into it. As he is aware, there was a High Court judgment in 2019, which reaffirmed that commercial peat extraction, absent planning permission, constitutes unauthorised development and the onus is on operators to first regularise their past activity via the planning system. I do not say that necessarily applies here. Planning...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I take the point that the suspension of commercial peat extraction has implications for operators in the sector and for the horticultural sector.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Functions (15 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: ...as well. That has been allocated to the midlands and parts of the west to create new job opportunities. The midlands area has taken the brunt of decisions on climate change with the closure of peat plants and so on. We would like to see that retrofitting replicated across the regions, particularly in rural areas. Regarding climate change, offshore wind energy is another area that...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: I am aware of the peat slide near Meenbog wind farm, Barnesmore Gap, south of Ballybofey, County Donegal, which is under construction. The matter is being actively investigated by several statutory agencies, led by Donegal County Council. It involves the Environmental Protection Agency, Irish Water, the Loughs Agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, as well as the Northern Ireland...

Ceisteanna – Questions: National Economic and Social Council (20 Oct 2020)

Micheál Martin: ...the just transition, we moved in respect of the midlands. The Government provided €20 million for the first retrofit scheme, with quite a number of counties affected by the decisions relating to the peat-burning stations. That is one part of the pre-emptive moves that were identified in the NESC report to create alternative enterprises and employment in areas affected by climate...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: ...application to the midlands. A useful meeting could take place with the Minister in this regard because he is genuine and sincere in wanting to create alternative employment through renewables, peat reclamation and retrofitting. As the Deputy mentioned, IDA Ireland and others, including Enterprise Ireland, have a role to play to support more modern industry in the region and the creation...