Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Smith family. I am sure it is a poignant day for them. I also compliment the Leader and Senator Seery Kearney on co-sponsoring this Bill.

I agree with the comments of Senator Keogan on meningitis. There have some very sad and tragic deaths of young people because of meningitis throughout the country in recent weeks. I also agree with Senator Daly on food wastage. It is noteworthy to see coverage in the newspapers about the growing number of people in the world who are facing starvation because of an alleged lack of food yet, as Senator Daly pointed out, we are dumping so much food in this world that it is appalling.

It is nice to see Senator Gallagher in the Acting Leader's chair. I am not a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, but peat industry representatives appeared before it yesterday. I know this issue is very close to the Acting Leader's heart. I appeal to the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and its officials not to allow the horticultural industry in this country to completely collapse because of the lack of peat. None of us want to destroy our bogs completely but the reality is the mushroom industry and much of the horticultural industry needs to survive. They are now at the point of non-survival in this particular business. That is the reality, as the Acting Leader knows. I compliment the Chair of the joint committee, Deputy Cahill, who has done everything in his power, along with Senator Daly, who is also on the committee, to try to get people to see sense and give some extra time to allow peat to be extracted for necessary works and to keep jobs in place. We have to keep jobs in place. I would be very thankful if the Acting Leader would give that message to the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and his officials. I plead with them one last time to do what is necessary in the short term to save the horticultural industry.