Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for their very valuable and passionate contributions to what has been a really useful debate. I want to make two very quick points before I sum up. First, the report is going to Cabinet with recommendations and a memo on it but that is not sparked by this Bill. We have been working on this for a long time. I assure the House that we have been working tirelessly for many months on this and if it were simple, we would have embarked on the legislative process already. It is not so simple and we cannot do it. The second point is that we must work together on this. We have heard speakers from across 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 Attorney General around its legality and compliance with EU law. There is also advice that the Bill itself should be subject to a strategic environmental assessment, SEA, which it has not been. It is critically important to work within the law on this.

Senator O'Loughlin spoke about the horticultural sector in County Kildare and I appreciate its importance there. Senator Malcolm Byrne argued that there is no greener sector and I agree with him on that. He mentioned the Dutch continuing on in this space but the Dutch are also on the same journey as us. We all have to share that journey. Many years ago when I joined the Irish Peatland Conservation Council, it was the Dutch who came in and bought Irish bogs to help to save our peatlands. It is fantastic that we are on this journey but we have to do this together.

I will not have time to respond to all of the points raised in the debate today before I make my closing remarks. Senator Boylan raised the issue of the dual consent process and referred to the comments of the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, in this House on 13 October. Again, this is a wider issue than planning and an amendment to the Environmental Protection Agency Act would be required. I reiterate that it is not that simple, which is why we are here having this debate. Senator Boylan also mentioned bog rewetting and other climate measures as well as figures for importing and exporting peat. We have lots of figures being bandied about but the picture is as murky as the peatland itself. We do not know what the reality is in that regard.

Senator Higgins quite rightly mentioned the fact that our bogs and peatlands are carbon stores. Again, I go back to the conversations that we had at the very first peatlands pavilion at COP26 and the great respect for the work being done in Ireland on habitat restoration and bog rewetting. This is something we can be leaders on and we are sharing our experience with our international partners. Senator Higgins also noted the real risk of infringement proceedings if we seek to introduce a solution that is not compliant with EU environmental law. We must take that seriously.

Senator Kyne spoke about viable alternatives and we are exploring that area. Senator Gallagher also referred to the mushroom sector. I have spoken with him about that sector on numerous occasions. We want to find a collective solution and I am appealing to all Members of this House to work towards that.

In the short time remaining, I will go through my scripted closing speech but before doing so, I reiterate my belief that we can find a solution to this. While I welcome today's debate, I must point out that the Government will be opposing this Bill. In the context of interruptions to the supply of peat in the horticultural industry, the Government wants to protect jobs, livelihoods and our domestic horticultural industry. I see where Senators are coming from and appreciate that their concerns are genuine. I share those concerns and have been working with colleagues across government to address them for a number of months now.That is why we have listened very carefully to the contributions here today. The concerns that people have for the horticulture industry are valid. However, while I believe that this Bill is well intentioned, as others have identified, any proposals that we bring forward to address these concerns must be in compliance with Ireland's obligations under the environmental impact assessment and habitats directives. Otherwise, we will find ourselves in breach of European law, and potentially back in a situation where the legislation would not withstand a challenge in the courts. That is not where any of us wish to be.

My Department has received initial legal advice on the Bill from the Office of the Attorney General, which has indicated that there are serious legal issues with the Bill in terms of EU environmental law. We must take those concerns very seriously but we also have to work together to find solutions for the domestic horticultural industry. That is what the Government is working to achieve.

Senators will be aware that I commissioned a working group, under the chairmanship of Dr. Munoo Prasad, to examine the potential of alternatives to the use of peat in horticulture. This report will be brought in a memorandum to the Government very shortly – I understand it will be next week - accompanied by a series of additional proposals developed in a significant piece of cross-departmental work undertaken by the Departments of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Agriculture, Food and the Marine and my own Department, which have been working together to identify a series of steps that can be taken to assist the industry in addressing these challenges. On balance, I am of the view that we should proceed with the approach which will be brought to the Government in the coming days. While I understand the reason for wishing to bring this Bill forward, I cannot support it.

We are all grateful for the value of our peatlands and the change in conversation. A huge transition is taking place. In many ways it is very exciting, but incredibly challenging and worrying for many who have worked in this sector. Our relationship with peatlands is in a transformation. It is something that people have had historically, culturally, socially and economically but it is in flux. We want to work together as legislators to help the sector, but also to help peatlands, biodiversity and climate. I again thank Senators for their valuable contributions here this afternoon.