There is no clarity, certainty or adequate sources when it comes to peat harvesting. There is no clarity on where the authority to change the planning law resides. Is it with the EU or the Government? There is no certainty as to whether the horticulture sector can survive going forward. There are no adequate levels or sources of peat, or rather there are, but people are banned from accessing them. What has this Government got against the horticulture sector and why is the sector being made to carry the burden of unworkable environmentally incoherent policies? What actions will the Government take to address this crisis which is deepening by the hour? Peat is being imported from tens of thousands of miles away which is increasing the carbon footprint. What actions will the Government take for this sector?

The Government has been taking this issue very seriously. It is a challenging situation that emanates from the fact that pretty much all the commercial peat extraction that is happening in the country is operating without licence or authorisation. That has been the situation for many years. As a result, we have come up against a situation whereby the industry has not been regularised and is finding it very challenging to become regularised. Along with the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, I have been working on a recently commissioned report undertaken by Mr. Séamus Boland of Irish Rural Link to assess the number of bogs in the country of under 30 ha to see whether there is potential in that regard. I also commissioned planning expertise advice from two eminent professionals to help companies guide them through the planning process. However, there is no getting away from the fact this is difficult and challenging. My Department is engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to try plot a way forward.