Pressure is mounting on Taoiseach Michaél Martin to intervene on the peat supply crisis as fears grow that several rural horticulture and mushroom businesses will be forced to “relocate” abroad.
t comes as an official from the Department of the Environment and Climate Action told the Agriculture Committee that “import rule will need to be part of the solution” as domestic peat stockpiles are due to run out this autumn.
The Department says the problem is compounded by “a history of widespread non-compliance” with the country’s dual consent regulatory regime that requires planning permission and EPA licencing for peat extraction on bogs over 50ha.
With up to 17,000 rural-based jobs at imminent risk, Agriculture Committee chairman Jackie Cahill (FF) has called on his party leader to intervene.
Speaking to the Farming Independent deputy Cahill said: “I was horrified at the meeting, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing – that an Irish civil servant would say that the importation of peat is part of the solution.
“It was beyond comprehension how anyone would say such a thing and he said it on more than one occasion. When you have a civil servant with that attitude, the issue is never going to be solved.
“It’s so frustrating because what’s going to happen is all our mushroom industry and our horticulture industry is going to relocate – we’re going to lose jobs and another important industry for rural areas.
"I wrote to the Taoiseach after the meeting to highlight my concerns; he has responded to me verbally and says he is looking into it as a matter of urgency.”
During the tense exchanges between committee members and officials from the Departments of Environment, Agriculture and Housing, it also emerged that no assessment has been carried out on the carbon footprint associated with importing peat from other countries into Ireland. It also emerged that none of the Departments have examined why other EU countries can legally continue with industrial-scale peat harvesting.
Philip Nugent Assistant Secretary at the Department of Environment told the committee: “Import rule will need to be part of the solution and it is already happening because of the shortage of supply.
"There is obviously a carbon footprint associated with import, but there is also a carbon footprint associated with hauling horticulture grade peat from one side of the country to another. I haven’t seen the numbers on it, but look there are environmental implications both ways.”
When Sinn Fein’s Matt Carthy asked whether the Department of Environment had examined the laws of other countries where peat harvesting is still permitted, Mr Nugent said: “The Department of Environment isn’t the competent authority for the EIA [Environmental Impact Assessment] directive nor are we responsible for the planning system.
“I’ve outlined what is the way in which commercial peat harvesting can be reactivated in Ireland and it is through engagement with the dual consent regime. That process takes time and I think most members of the committee have said there is a requirement for solutions in the interim.”
Chief plant health officer at the Department of Agriculture Barry Delaney said the immediate solution is "regularisation of sub 30ha sites and looking at that small scale extraction for the domestic market”. “That is the quickest way to get it regularised,” he said.
It is understood that, within the European Union, the dual consent system applies only in Ireland.