The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine is to scrutinise Bord na Móna’s decision to issue a blanket ban on the production of peat in Ireland.
Discussion will be centred around the effect of stopping of peat production on other industries including nurseries, horticulture and mushroom growing.
Stakeholders affected by the decision, including Bord na Móna, will appear in front of the committee over the next few weeks.
Committee chairman, deputy Jackie Cahill, said there was a ludicrous situation developing where Ireland needs to import peat as a raw material for native industries such as mushroom growing, horticulture and nurseries.
Mr Cahill revealed he had heard reports of fuel merchants importing peat and briquettes from Germany, which if true, he said: “common sense has completely and utterly gone out the window here.”
“Surely, to keep those industries cost competitive is a priority and importing peat from Estonia is both economically and environmentally harmful,” he added.
“It appears to be a lose-lose situation in terms of the environmental footprint and the economic inefficiency.”
LSL News.