Around 18,000 jobs supported by Ireland's horticultural sector are at immediate risk unless a workable system for the sustainable harvesting of horticultural peat is introduced, the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food has heard.
Growing Media Ireland (GMI) - the representative body for the majority of growing media producers in the country - told the committee the horticultural sector is "facing an imminent crisis" and urged members to press the Government to "end years of policy paralysis by introducing a practical, workable regulatory structure".
Peat harvesting is not prohibited under either Irish or EU law, and GMI claims the domestic horticultural sector requires just 600 hectares – 0.004% of Ireland's total peatlands – to meet its needs.
