Fianna Fáil senator Robbie Gallagher has accused the government of “cutting off our environmental noses to spite our face” when it comes to climate policy and the banning of peat harvesting.
The remarks were made as the senator spoke in the Dáil to Green Party senator Pippa Hackett about Ireland’s native mushroom horticulture industry.
“The mushroom industry is the largest horticultural sector in Ireland with a farm gate value of €119 million, of which approximately 85% is exported to the UK,” he said.
“It employs over 3,500 people. County Monaghan is well known for its indigenous industry. One of the most successful of these local industries is the mushroom sector, which employs hundreds and hundreds of people and supports local farms and businesses and by extension, many local communities.”
Gallagher went on to explain the importance of the sector to the local and national economy.
“The sector is crucial to the economy, particularly in the north of County Monaghan,” he said.
“However, the industry now faces a significant, and in my opinion unneeded, challenge at a time when it faces the consequences of both Brexit and Covid.
“A ban on peat harvesting will have a very serious impact on the mushroom industry in County Monaghan. The industry is heavily reliant on high-grade peat and there is currently no viable alternative to horticultural peat.”
The senator highlighted the unusual scenario of peat harvesting being banned domestically, ostensibly for environmental reasons, while it is imported from other European countries.
“If peat is not available here in Ireland, the mushroom industry will be forced to import it from the Baltic states or from northern Europe at a huge cost both in financial terms to the industry and in the form of the higher carbon footprint of transporting that peat into the country.”
Gallagher accused the government of “cutting off their environmental noses to spite their face,” and said that the policy would be of very little help to the environment.
“What sense is there in damaging a successful local industry for little or no environmental gain,” he said.
“It seems to be a case of cutting off our environmental noses to spite our face. To put things in perspective, there are 1.5 million ha of peatland in Ireland of which only 5,500 ha, approximately, are used for horticultural peat. That is less than 0.35%. Mushroom-casing peat represents a small fraction of this and probably as little as 10 ha to 15 ha annually.
“The Minister must introduce measures to ensure the resumption of the harvesting of horticultural peat for the mushroom industry to avoid a shortage this year, as well as measures to financially incentivise the use of spent mushroom compost.”
He concluded: “We need a fair and efficient system which can allow horticultural peat harvesting to continue while the environmental alternatives to peat are researched and scaled up.”
Gript did an extensive interview with some of the midlands Bord na Mona workers affected by the cessation of peat harvesting, which can be found below.
Bord na Móna has moved to end all peat harvesting from Irish bogs – now Irish workers watch as briquettes and energy are being imported from Germany and elsewhere. Gript speaks to some of those affectedhttps://t.co/4MTHNQgHGM pic.twitter.com/x0ZjwohaO8
— gript (@griptmedia) February 18, 2021