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Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

.... A bespoke seasonal work permit scheme for foreign workers must be a priority for the sector, in conjunction with a continuous supply of permits from the general employment scheme. The long-standing issue of peat availability for domestic horticulture remains a bone of contention. The only measure that will resolve this is to introduce primary legislation to allow for the extraction of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Jackie Cahill: I thank Mr. Rushe. He has outlined the problems we know are in the horticulture sector. We have done a lot of talking here about the availability of horticulture peat. I agree we are failing to face up to that issue. Importing peat is environmental madness as well as economic madness. While the growers have reduced by two thirds, the acreage has dropped by a far smaller percentage. Is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Joe Flaherty: On peat, there was a court case in the midlands earlier in June where the EPA had taken three growers to court. It was a major win for the producers in that the court established that three boglands were not technically and hydrologically connected. The EPA has continued to contend its flawed claim that bogland is hydrologically linked but unfortunately for it, it was unable to produce any...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Mr. Brian Rushe: One hundred percent. Look at what we are facing; we have no clear alternative. There is no alternative to peat so we have a situation where peat is being imported to satisfy the demand, and the demand is there. Until we have an alternative, the demand will remain. As the Chairman said before, it makes no sense. I am in north-west Kildare, in the middle of the bog...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

.... We need to get that office up and running, and working. We need more transparency and regular reporting on the market data. We obviously need substrate. We need to continue support for peat substitutes. A whole approach is required if we want to save the horticultural sector. There are no fast wins. We will get a few quick wins in terms of labour that will help to sustain the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Victor Boyhan: ...could set it out now, in the short term. We are in the season now. That would be helpful and the IFA might follow that up with the committee in order that we can advocate for that. On peat availability, this is a difficult one for me. On this committee, we have advocated strongly for peat and the whole issue around peat for one or two years. Regardless of the Green Party having...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

...frustrated with regard to the lack of movement there and we appreciate the work done by this committee on this issue. It is very much appreciated. You pull your hair out thinking that importing peat from eastern Europe while your are sitting in the middle of a bog is not reason enough to allow it to be used, let alone looking for another reason on top of that. I understand where the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

.... As for Mr. Seamus Boland's report, which was requested by the working group, one of the key requests of that report was to ascertain the exact requirements of the horticultural industry for peat. I do not think that was possible in that report. There is a lot of work to be done but the court case alluded to earlier showed light at the end of the tunnel regarding the sub-30 ha bogs....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Martin Browne: Most of my other questions have been asked, so I will ask about peat availability. It is stupid and crazy that we are importing peat from eastern Europe when we have bogs all over this country. Is there any indication of what progress is being made? We hear about alternative peat products. We have all spoken to horticulturists, garden growers and so forth. They are all trying their own...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

...source a suitable commercial substrate. Work is ongoing but it will take more time. Recently, the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA, stated that it was looking to go peat free by 2030 but its statement also mentioned that it was seeking a derogation for plant plugs and mushroom production because there was no certainty that a viable alterative would be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Martin Browne: Has the IFA confidence that the alternative, when it comes on board, will be as good as the natural peat we have stopped harvesting? Will it be as good as or better than what is being imported?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Mr. Niall McCormack: It is not only peat. To grow strawberries, we are bringing coir into the country from Sri Lanka and that area. A big dirty tanker crossing the world-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: With regard to the peat situation the witnesses have outlined the need but there seems to be no solution for the mushroom sector. What about other horticulture sectors that require peat? How are they fixed?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Mr. Niall McCormack: The strawberry sector uses coir which comes from Sri Lanka. It comes from halfway across the world. Some growers still use peat.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Paul Daly: I was thinking about this when the witnesses were talking about the peat replacement that is coming across the world. It is. Is there any danger, because it is a coconut byproduct or a crop-based byproduct, of some foreign disease of any sort coming in or sneaking in the back door? Is that an issue because of the fact that it is a grown product as opposed to a manufactured or harvested...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Ms Niamh Brennan: We would share that concern. The coir is used as a substitute in the strawberry sector. It has been used for a number of years. The main substitute being put into peat alternatives now is woodchip, which is imported. You can treat woodchip but we would still have concerns about what could be in it. On the quality aspect, some of the amenity growers have trialled some...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Paul Daly: When it is finished or has served its purpose, is there a future for the byproduct? Is it able to be used or disposed of the way we would have used peat as a fertiliser or whatever? Will that be an issue down the line with regard to how the used commodity is disposed of? Has it a purpose or use?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: ...is a bit of cat and mouse going on about what is happening. There was been a court case in the past week where the EPA brought growers to court about a hydrologically linked area. The growers and peat processors brought in people at different levels who were able to do the science and I believe the case was won. I have seen this done before and I talked about it here at the committee....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consolidation in Horticultural Grower Numbers: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Eugene Murphy: ...to support the guests. My first job was teaching horticulture. I make a constant argument that when we talk about environmental issues, we are defeating the purpose when we ban the production of peat here and bring it in from eastern Europe instead. Also, we need to consider all the things we could produce in this country instead of importing them from all over the world. What effect...