Results 1-18 of 18 for peat segment:8101066

Did you mean: pat segment:8101066?

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Róisín Garvey: ...stop. There are no "buts" on this issue. People cannot say one thing and then say we should start going back to harvesting our bogs again. Let us make it very clear that 11 times the amount of peat needed by the horticulture industry is exported from this country. If we want to tackle this issue, be honest about it and not use it as some kind of political football, we would ask why we...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: The Minister of State is very welcome to the Chamber. He may remember this time last year I raised in a Commencement debate a matter related to horticultural peat, which he addressed. It is a matter of sadness that a year later we are having essentially the same debate. There is at least a heightened sense of urgency and willingness to do something about the issue, more or less because of...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Annie Hoey: We are using a lot of language about extracting and harvesting. I do not know if that is a reflection of what we are talking about when we speak of removing peat from the earth. It is more suitable to say we are mining peat because it is not renewable in any relevant timescale. It takes an enormous amount of time to renew peatlands. We should start calling it mining. I do not know how...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is not compatible with EU law or with the achievement or maintenance of 1.5°C of global warming. Peatlands are the largest natural terrestrial carbon store. They store more carbon than all other vegetation types in the world combined. Damaged and drained peatlands are no longer a benefit or a carbon store, however; in fact, they become major emitters. It is estimated that between...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Seán Kyne: ...the record. On where we are, I will make a few points and the Minister of State might be able to confirm them or comment on them. Could he confirm that there are no viable alternative mediums to peat for the horticultural sector that have proved to be available, affordable, sustainable and meet quality as well as environmental requirements? Also, 0.12% of Irish peatlands is required for...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...committed to the greening of Ireland. It is impacted by climate change and those involved are very much aware of the effect of climate change. Most are strongly supportive of ending the use of peat as a fossil fuel because they see the impact of it. We have effectively thrown the baby out with the bathwater here. Let us consider the volume of peat used in a normal year. Peat for...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: ...term the mid-Shannon wilderness park as a natural amenity of 20,000 acres of rehabilitated bogland. I support its development and believe it could be an economic driver for our community. The area of peatland that is relevant to the horticultural industry only represents 0.12% of total Irish peatlands and is a fraction of what we previously harvested. The impact of imported peat...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Victor Boyhan: ...and the Minister of State's own party, the Green Party, talks about growing the horticultural sector and about sustainability in the agrifood sector. This sector, more than any other, relies on milled peat and while there are certain bogs that will never be remediated, some bogs may be able to facilitate some additional milling of peat. I am in favour of saving our bogs; we are all in...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Lynn Boylan: The Government has known for many years that the use of peat for horticulture must be phased out. It has known that this would require a transitional plan to ensure the horticulture industry had sufficient supplies of peat in the short term while sustainable alternatives were being identified and put in place in the medium to long term. Despite knowing this for years, Fianna Fáil and...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Regina Doherty: The Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill is an attempt to find a just solution to provide for a just transition. I wish to put on the record of the House that drafting this Bill for the 35 members of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael was a last resort to solving this problem, which, I believe, has been kicked down the road for far too long. What is in this Bill is a workable solution...

Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Eugene Murphy: ...support. I have never lobbied for the big exporters. Senator Garvey was right when she said that we need a debate. We need to discuss what is happening. I even heard a rumour that some of the peat that was imported from Latvia could have been exported again. I urge Senator Garvey to share that information with us as quickly as possible. I am sure she will. We cannot just return to...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Aisling Dolan: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, for being here. It is crucial that we talk about peat, transition and climate change, but who is talking about people? Who is talking about people and about jobs? We are talking about peat. I live in Ballinasloe. Less than 10 km from Shannonbridge, there are seasonal workers who have lost their jobs. I know people who have lost their jobs....

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Michael McDowell: ...out whether gorse needles or something else can be ground up to produce a medium. There is no point in doing that kind of thing. We now have to have some derogation simply to produce extracted peat or mined peat, if you want to use that phrase, to supply that industry while we work on an alternative. I hope the Ministers in the various Departments, as it is a cross-departmental issue,...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Pauline O'Reilly: ...helping the horticultural sector. We need to distinguish between growers in this country and those who are making money out of extraction. We must point to the fact that ten times the amount of peat is being exported as being imported, otherwise it is a completely dishonest conversation. What this Bill does is recreate regulations in primary legislation that were struck down by European...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Tim Lombard: ...happening in agriculture. This stuck with me today on my way here from Cork. There are major changes here in terms of CAP reform and nitrates action plans. This debate is about the licensing of peat in order that we can have a horticulture industry that will be viable going forward. We need a more plugged-in approach to what is happening on the ground when it comes to the agricultural...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Michael McDowell: I rise to speak about one thing only and that is the mushroom industry. It is the only thing I am concerned with. I oppose the export of Irish peat to the UK and other places for horticultural purposes there. They can get on with their John Innes compost or whatever else they have. I am only concerned with the mushroom industry and the people whose jobs are at issue in the mushroom...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: ...the House outline the challenges facing the sector. It is a sector that I worked in for many years as a landscape gardener and one that I truly value, but as an environmentalist, I also value our peatlands. To respond to Senator Doherty, who introduced the Bill and opened the debate, nobody is against fixing this. We are all in favour of fixing it. We have advice from the Office of the...