In a debate on the issues for growers importing horticultural grade peat, Monaghan Senator Robbie Gallagher has told the Seanad that a ban on peat harvesting will have a very serious impact on the nation’s mushroom industry.
Gallagher stated: “The Minister needs to introduce measures to ensure the resumption of harvesting of horticultural peat for the mushroom industry to avoid a shortage this year, as well as measure to support and incentivize the use of spent mushroom compost.”
“If peat is not available here in Ireland, the mushroom industry will actually be forced to import peat from the Baltic states or northern Europe at a huge cost, both in financial terms to the industry itself but also in relation to the higher carbon footprint of transporting that peat into the country. The industry is heavily reliant on high grade horticultural peat and there is currently no viable alternative to horticultural peat.”
Senator Gallagher said that of Ireland’s 1.5 mln hectares of peatlands, only 10-15 ha is actually used for harvesting horticultural grade peat.
Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture Senator Pippa Hackett responded to the senator’s concerns, making the distinction between an outright ban on peat harvesting and increased planning requirements.
Farmersjournal.ie quoted her as saying: “It is important to point out at the out-set that there is not a ban on harvesting peat, it is rather the requirement for compliance with the regulatory framework for the extraction which requires both planning and integrated pollution control [IPC] licensing depending on the circumstance.”
The Minister also brought attention to ongoing research evaluating possible alternatives to peat as a medium for growing mushrooms.
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