Results 1-20 of 40 for peat segment:7865822

Did you mean: pat segment:7865822?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Matt Carthy: ...the working group in terms of its outward decisions. One can see it already in Mr. Lucas's responses. A Green Party Minister will say he followed through on preventing the use of horticultural peat and other Government Ministers will say it was a working group. Mr. Lucas's opening statement states there are significant positives and negatives arising from the ending of the use of peat...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Michael Collins: ...has been extremely vocal on this issue in the Dáil and elsewhere. I have read the reports prepared by the witnesses. I am shocked by the seemingly decimating impacts of the changes relating to peat extraction on the Irish horticulture industry. It is evident that many jobs will be lost and small and medium growers in horticulture will be made uncompetitive. All present agree with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Michael Collins: ...opening statement from the witness. I and perhaps other members were shocked when we heard what has been said but we probably already knew about this from the decimating impacts of the changes to peat extraction on the Irish horticulture industry. This is a complete fiasco and absolute disaster. We need legislation to define peat extraction for horticulture. I intend to keep my...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Martin Browne: ...- the last speaker said the price could double - will drive out the smaller people and it will favour only competitors from other countries to the detriment of our own. In the review of the use of peat moss in the horticultural industry, was adequate attention given to the impact that ending the use of peat moss would have on the industry? Have the witnesses been contacted by the new...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Mr. Brian Lucas: I first wish to thank the committee for inviting me and, as requested, I will read out my statement. Action 5, set out in the National Peatlands Strategy 2015, provides for a review of the use of peat moss in the horticultural industry. To undertake this review, the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht established a working group comprised of representatives...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Mr. Brian Lucas: As to the use of peat and peat bogs, there is always the argument that once one drops the drains, one stops the emissions, which is good from an environmental perspective. In some cases, if one can get the sphagnum moss back, these bogs will in fact become carbon sinks. An example of that, and the Deputy may have heard of this, is that Bord the Móna has decided to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Mr. John Neenan: I will take that question. I will start by answering Deputy Carthy’s earlier question which asked what was the size of our industry. The area of land for horticultural peat production in Ireland is 1,700 ha, which is 0.12% of total Irish peatlands under production. This is a very tiny area. The carbon emissions from the area that produces horticultural peat is now...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Mr. Paddy Gleeson: Let me put this into perspective. The horticultural industry only used 1.7% of the total peat harvested by Bord na Móna. I worked as a nursery stock specialist in Teagasc for 40 years and have considerable knowledge of the industry. I will give some up-to-date information on Teagasc's views on what is happening. The nursery stock currently uses 0.5% of the peat...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Mr. Brian Lucas: Imported peat versus peat extraction here is one of the issues that were identified in the key issues paper so, from my Department's perspective, it is an issue we identified. It is not the job of my Department to do a detailed analysis of that. As one of the committee's previous witnesses has already pointed out, the legislation is in place. That legislation regulates...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Matt Carthy: ...sentiments about the potentially extremely dangerous situation we are in. I have a number of questions for our guests. First, will they outline the immediate difficulties accessing horticultural peat? The challenges they are facing in the here and now due to the shortages we have been hearing about are being faced by a number of sectors. This includes issues as benign, almost, as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Mr. Brian Lucas: I was asked if it would be possible not to cut peat in bogs because there would be no environmental benefits in blocking the drains. I listened into most of the previous session and many of the points the witnesses made were identified in the issues paper that I referred to and in the review report. What we need to do is to get everybody around the table now in the working...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Mr. Frank Corbally: I will make one or two points. On imports of peat, food and nursery stock, none of those would have an environmental benefit for Ireland. If we do not have availability of Irish peat, our greenhouse gases and CO2 emissions will rise so we will be in a worse position. Many people have asked about alternatives and previous speakers have explained the problems with those....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

...of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Teagasc and Bord Bia on exports, growing local plants and creating import substitution. I have worked with them for the past 20 years. The quality of Irish peat is totally different from that which we could buy from the Baltic states, Scotland or any other country. It is within the remit of all of us, including every Department, to look after the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Jackie Cahill: ...state to Mr. Lucas that we have had the stakeholders presenting before us for over the past hour and they are very worried about the economic viability of their industry going forward, the lack of peat, and the impact that will have on their industry. Deputy Fitzmaurice made the point that if we get the spring that we got last year, it is in the months of April and May that peat will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Victor Boyhan: ...I ask the witnesses to share with us the engagements they have had with Teagasc. I ask them to outline the impacts on soft fruit production, forestry and nursery stock. I am fully supportive of peat. We need to take our environment seriously. I would be interested to hear the witnesses' views on a just transition. I am talking about something that will take a few years. Where are the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Paul Kehoe: ...about this because my training was in horticulture in Kildalton College many years ago. What consultation have the witnesses had with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the peat industry through Bord na Móna? I know how important peat is for soft fruit, vegetables, mushrooms and so on. I do not agree about the alternatives but have the witnesses examined how...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Paul Daly: ...It overcame and rode out that storm and is one of the most productive of the food industries which exports into the UK. In order to keep these markets going, can I have some brief answers on whether peat is being imported at the moment? We are hearing about peat coming into the country or is it the case that peat may have to come into the country? For the purposes of this discussion,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Paul Daly: ...been very noticeable to me that I meet all the loads of logs coming in from Scotland, and now I have been informed, in the earlier part of this meeting, that from here on in, I will meet loads of peat. While it is not Mr. Lucas's fault personally, can he not see the irony of this? I read the Department's submission and read about the first review and the number of Departments that were...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Mr. Brian Lucas: I hope I got all the questions. I will reiterate a point made by Deputy Leddin. During the review, the industry also accepted there was a need for provision from the use of peat. As I said in answer to Deputy Carthy, what is set out in the review report are the issues identified during the review. It is not a predetermined outcome. It is a framework for the work that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Impact of Peat Shortages on the Horticulture Industry: Discussion