John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

One was politically correct and the other said things straight and might upset a few people. I will take the Minister of State's lead and give an honest appraisal of where I see things on this issue. First and foremost I want to put on the record of the House, as the Minister of State has, that the horticulture industry in Ireland is an essential component of our food industry. It supports 6,600 direct jobs and 11,000 indirect ones.According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine it is worth €477 million to the economy, that is, €410 million for horticulture and food and €67 million for amenity horticulture. This critical sector is on its knees due to the unintended consequences of the restrictions on peat harvesting. It is all well and good to say that there is a need to look at alternatives, but there simply is no viable alternative at present for the majority of operators in the commercial horticulture sector. Teagasc's submission to the review on the use of peat in the horticultural industry highlights the specialised nature of the growing media required for different crops and the level of risk and research required before alternatives can be used.

As a result of the restrictions on peat harvesting, we are seeing what can be only described as "an Irish solution to an Irish problem". We are hiving off to another country, that is, Latvia, responsibility for the essential peat supplies to keep our horticulture sector ticking. One has to question the environmental impact of importing peat into this country. It is, after all, the same planet we are collectively trying to protect. I would go as far as to describe this as "eco-vandalism". We are all the time striving to be self-sustaining. It seems the particular policy and principle of self-sustainment applies only in certain circumstances, not in regard to peat harvesting. There is simply no justification in my book for preventing the harvesting of one tenth of 1% of Ireland's total area of peatlands, which is a fraction of the peatlands previously harvested, all in the name of climate action, while at the same time gas guzzling trucks are transporting harvested peat to ports in the Baltic's, where it is then loaded on to tankers fuelled by fossil fuels, transported cross the North Sea into the Irish Sea, and then collected by more trucks to be transported next-door to a bog that could have provided the same product. Where is the logic in terms of the economics and environmental impact in doing this?

I am aware the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, has been active in this space and that he has put his shoulder to the wheel in addressing this matter. It is a matter of particular concern to him in regard to his own constituency. I know he wants to see common sense prevail on this matter. The Minister of State's statement that he has no issue exempting peat extraction from the planning process is a strong signal. I hope his counterparts across other Departments will be as forthcoming in addressing this matter.

There is a planning element to this, but as rightly stated by the Minister of State, there is a policy and licensing element for which the EPA is responsible. If we were to bring forth emergency planning legislation in the morning to allow for peat extraction, it is likely, first, that it would be challenged in the courts and, second, that licensing would be a further hurdle to be overcome. We need to have a further debate on this matter with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ryan. This is a matter which all of us in this House, cross-party, are committed to rectifying. The horticulture sector across Ireland is important to the lives and livelihood's of so many people. It is critical to our rural and regional economies. I commend the Minister of State on his robust introductory contribution to the debate this afternoon. If everybody puts their shoulders to the wheel in the same manner, which I know the Minister of State is committed to doing, we can find a solution to this important matter.