Victor Boyhan: Horticulture in Crisis - PEAT Policy Delays

First I want to welcome all the witnesses here. I want to thank you for your presentation. We've had an opportunity to read them in detail. You will be aware that the EPA are coming in later from another perspective in relation to PEAT, but I just want to declare at the very outset I've always, in all of my working life, I've worked in horticulture. I've studied horticulture. I understand the sector from the mushroom sector to the nursery stock sector to the soft roots to the commercial side of it. I understand the sector very well and I know it. And it struck me when I was in Bloom the other day and talking to growers particularly there who are feeding into the Bloom enterprise, their reliance on PEAT and we're talking about horticultural milled PEAT for the purposes. I want to at the very outset acknowledge the presence of Val Farrell here from the IFA and you might convey to the IFA my thanks for the very detailed budgetary submission that was received by members of the OACTA yesterday. It was interesting, there was a very substantial section on objectives about horticulture and I think that's to be welcomed. And I'm also very, very conscious that we have a national horticultural strategy for 2023 to 2027 and if it's the government's intention to see half of that objectives there being successful, PEAT is a critical part of it. As someone who's a keen gardener even myself and talking to growers in the last week, the products that are out there in the bedding plants sector at the moment, it's a combination of convoluted, all bits of recycled stuff. It doesn't retain moisture for starters. If it dries out it's impossible to re-wet. There are no nutrients in it, there's nothing in it. It is not successful. You know, there is an issue there. I'm now actually making up my own compost, believe it or not. But anyway, in terms of being commercially viable and the horticultural sector, we have got to address this issue. So as opposed to just a number of points I want to raise with you generally, beyond PEAT is clearly an objective of Childress. I don't think it's happening, quite frankly, fast enough. Members of this committee have gone out, they've gone to the Ashtown site, we've looked at trials. But that seems to slow down. So you might share with the committee your understanding where beyond PEAT trials with Childress are, because I think that's an issue. The other issue, one or two things. What's your understanding of the importation of male PEAT into Ireland? Can you share with us the agents, the tonnage, you know, what sort of volumes of PEAT outside the Republic? I mean, we know there are some PEAT coming from the North, but outside of this country, what sort of tonnages are involved there? As well as the very outset, I think what's really great about your opening statement, Mr Neenan, and I think you've nailed this really, really well. I think this is a really key message for me and I'm glad that you make the point, but I endorse the point that you made, that, you know, growing media Ireland is not seeking deregulation and is not asking for environmental standards to be weakened. And that's really positive, because there's a lot of myths out there and a lot of spin that somehow this route, this industry, you know, doesn't take its environmental areas of obligations, you know, seriously. And I know that's not the case. But I think that's a really strong message that you need to keep echoing all of the time. But at the end of the day, if we want a successful horticultural industry in the green isle of Ireland, we need to address PEAT. I understand it, I know it's significant. So, look, I want to give the time to you. I suppose one question you might just flesh out. You ask, and I know definitely I support your four recommendations, your four key asks of this committee, you have my full support on them. You say the final one, the establishment of a formal interdepartmental working group. And you might set out just very briefly the timeline of that and how you see that working. But I think horticulture is in crisis, the ornamental, the commercial, vegetable, softwood, every part of the horticultural industry is absolutely in crisis. So I welcome your intervention and you have my absolute full support. Thanks. I suppose in the last part of your question, there are, in most other European countries, all the stakeholders come into play. In Ireland, the producers are not involved at all. That's number one. And the second point that you mentioned about the people trying to comply, when the legislation was introduced, the Saturday arrangements in January 2019, the vast majority of the producers at that stage started off doing their assessments to get regulated by the EPA. Unfortunately, in July 2019, those two regulations were turned down. So nothing happened since then. And all we had is reports. And what I would like to find out is that's over seven years ago. And I contrast that to the issue where the EPA had a problem in the court case on the 31st of July 2024, that they used to say that they were trying to include everything, but the Court of Appeal ruled that they had to have, it didn't cover past or future. They got the law changed within 17 months of that date, and it was implemented. So here we are with the EPA, part of the establishment, I would suggest, and we are part of the country, folks. So we are left 84 months without anything being done by the government. We have another organisation within 19 months, sorry, from the 31st of July 2024, the court case was held, and the law was implemented in March, so the March in 2026. So we are left there. I would also say that the Section 5 is recommended by Minister Charlie McLeod and Minister Pippa Hackett, and they said we should go to sub-30 hectare route. And one of, a supplier to one of the members of GMI did the Section 5, they had the EIA screening, and a hydrological report, and they submitted it in June 2024. It was due to be decided on, it was referred by the local authority to the EPA, it was due to be referred on the 3rd of June 2025, a decision. We are now on the whatever date in June 2026, and there is no decision. So how the Minister and the junior minister at that stage told us that was the system. And I can say categorically in this house that if that Section 5 is passed, because there is no reason why it isn't, then...