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Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

Eamon Ryan: ...I believe the fundamental nature of the business is not sustainable on a carbon basis. We are a country which is shamed internationally in carbon leagues and so on. We cannot continue burning peat in power stations, importing palm oil kernels or acquiring forests in Georgia. The environmental community will soon start targeting companies which do that, arguing it is not naturally...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

Eamon Ryan: ...na Móna is considering the purchase of a company in Georgia in the US with a view to buying virgin forest there for importation to Ireland for burning in biomass power generation, co-firing with peat. Where does that project stand, what is the timeline, what is the requirement for ministerial approval and so on? I understand that there was an announcement in April of a joint...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

...a trusted brand name. I want to talk briefly about Bord na Móna. From a historical perspective Bord na Móna is a company that has derived great value and benefit from one natural resource, namely peat. It is now in the process of transformation going on to find further value from other resources. The company now has six divisions - peat, powergen, fuels, horticulture,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

Mr. Geoffrey Meagher: I take the Deputy's point on this but, to be fair, Bord na Móna needs to do this in an orderly way. We have a duty of care to our 2,100 employees, 1,100 of whom are in the peat business. The company is progressing towards renewables and will continue that. We obviously have contracts with the ESB and others which we need to honour and we cannot walk away from...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

Brian Stanley: ...about the purchase of a plant in Georgia, USA. Various figures are mentioned, one being €60 million. I want Mr. Meagher to address this directly. The next issue is of significant concern. In 2030, peat extraction will be finished if we are still in the European Union. What is the position on replacing peat? When I first walked through the doors of this House seven years ago,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

Barry Cowen: ...the company is committed to the community. It is greatly challenged in how it does that nowadays and over the years it obviously has had to diversify and have less of a dependency on its core activity of peat excavation. As he rightly said, it has diversified to meet those challenges with respect to Powergen, the fuels element, horticulture as he mentioned, and the move towards bioenergy...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

Jackie Cahill: ...what Bord na Móna's mission statement should be. My colleague, Deputy Barry Cowen, spoke about the agreement with the ESB. What is the position on that agreement with reference to the use of peat and biomass in ESB plants? We need an answer to that question. I greatly respect the reputation of the new incoming chairman, with whom, as I said, I have worked in the past....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

...on the Shannon. We will co-operate with whatever works are ongoing in this area but our lands in the Shannon represent about 2% of the catchment area, and less than 1% of that is inactive in terms of peat production for the two electricity generating plants. Within the terms of our licences and the rules under which we operate, we will work with local authorities and others to help in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: ...the company had a great name for bringing forward new generations of apprentices, particularly fitters. Unfortunately, it appears that in the period between now and 2030 some 1,600 to 1,700 jobs in peat production will be under pressure. One can look at the company's track record and what it did with the last batch of workers who were employed on temporary contracts. When the company...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

Mr. Geoffrey Meagher: On Deputy Lowry's question on the closure of the Littleton peat briquette plant, the company did not want to do it. However, with the decline in briquette sales, having two briquette plants did not make economic sense. While it was a decision we regretted, it had to be done for the future of the company. As I mentioned earlier, we are required to return a dividend to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

Jackie Cahill: ...to close it was not taken overnight. It is unacceptable for a semi-State company to leave us with what could be called a desert of bog. Horticulture has been mentioned with reference to the alternative use of peat. There are 1,100 acres of land in Littleton and other significant tracts in other areas of the country. It is incumbent on Bord na Móna to put that acreage to use for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

...come back to the board. Obviously, if something is to be done, it will have to come back to the board in due course. That is the current position. A question was asked about the exportation of moss peat. This relates to the horticulture business. As Deputy Brian Stanley knows better than I do, there are two sides to that business, namely, retail and supplying products to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna: Chairperson Designate (28 Nov 2017)

...issue that I will bring back. We can refer back to management. I thank Deputy Cowen for his comments, especially on tourism. I agree with his comments in that regard. Deputy Cowen referred to peat production post-2019 and the position with the ESB on the two power plants. Those negotiations are ongoing. The discussions are at sensitive stage at the moment. They are going...