2558. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the volume of horticultural peat imported into Ireland in each of the years 2021 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; the strategy in place to secure a sustainable supply of growing media for the horticulture sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56413/26]

My Department has no remit in the regulation of peat extraction. Anyone wishing to extract peat must comply with the relevant planning and licensing requirements. Nevertheless, I am cognisant of the challenges peat supply and identifying suitable peat alternatives is having on the horticulture sector.

With a view to supporting the horticulture sector and exploring solutions to provide a necessary supply of peat to the sector as it transitions away from the use of peat as a growing medium, there has been substantial cross-departmental engagement with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) and the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE).

The engagement followed the publication of the Working Paper to address challenges related to peat supply in the horticulture sector in January 2022. My Department committed to a number of actions in the published working paper including procuring expertise to prepare a 'User’s Guide for the regulatory processes (planning and environmental) that apply specifically to peat extraction activity for horticulture purposes on sites of less than 30ha in Ireland’.

My Department also committed to an action to explore the potential of sub 30 hectare peat sites as a source of peat for the horticulture sector. This led to the publication of the ‘Final Report on the assessment of the Levels and Suitability of Current Indigenous Peat Stocks and Identification of Sub-Thirty Hectare Sites and other recommendations to support domestic horticulture industry as it transitions to peat alternatives’ (www.gov.ie/en/publication/beb6d-publication-of-reports-commissioned-as-part-of-the-peat-working-paper/). My Department is currently engaging with the County and City Management Agency with a view to quantifying the issue of peat supply for the horticulture sector in the context of recommendation one in the aforementioned report and exploring options to address the issue.

Separately, through the EU Producer Organisation Scheme for fruit and vegetables, substantial support has been provided to fund research into peat free alternatives. Financial support has been also been provided for work into peat alternatives through the horticulture grant schemes operated by my Department. My Department is also funding the Beyond Peat project led by Teagasc, which is researching a number of potential peat free alternatives.

Please see attached table which details the volume of peat imported into Ireland in each of the years 2021 to 2025 and to date in 2026. The figures in the table are provided by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), and do not distinguish between horticultural peat and peat for other purposes.

Import Figures