Fears over impact of peat moss on local horticulture sector

Fears have been raised that Bord na Móna's recent sudden halt to peat moss production could lead to a shortage of plants and vegetables, increased prices, less jobs in horticulture in Westmeath and more imports in the future.

That stark warning was sounded by Cllr Tom Farrell (FG) at the January meeting of Athlone-Moate Municipal District as he appealed for support for a letter to be sent calling on the Minister for Climate Action to regulate the production of peat moss for horticulture, mushroom and garden centre industries.

Referring to the impact on local garden centres in the district, the Walderstown public representative said that “peat moss is their backbone” for vegetables, bedding and roses and to close it overnight leaves them in big difficulty.

Supporting his party colleague, Cllr John Dolan acknowledged that everyone knew peat production had to stop but to do it overnight was the problem. He likened it to just saying we're moving to electric cars tomorrow with no transition.

Cllr Dolan, who is a dairy farmer, explained that he uses peat for bedding and it's now proposed that he move to straw, supplies of which are limited.

Sometimes decisions are made without any thought of the implications to the end-users and without any common sense or time to adjust, he complained, saying the peat they use for bedding is later spread out on the land.

While he may not get the peat in the south, he knows it will be available in Northern Ireland, and he wondered if the country is simply handing over an industry.

Supporting Cllr Farrell's motion, Green Party Cllr Louise Heavin said she had been in touch with the Minister after Bord na Móna shut down the peat moss operations overnight and the loss of jobs.

While she acknowledged the need to move away from peat moss to more sustainable products, this sudden action had forced the horticulture sector to make a transformation to their business overnight.

The future is about peat-free compost but it's important where it comes from and it needs to be local, something the government needs to put funding into developing, she added.

In the meantime, Cllr Heaving called for immediate measures to be put in place to aid the horticulture sector.

A much more pessimistic view was put forward by Kilbeggan Cllr Liam McDaniel, who told Monday week's meeting that the horse has already bolted on this issue with the cessation of all peat production.

Bord na Móna's hand was forced on the horticulture or moss peat side because that is usually found at the top layer of bogs, and there is no more moss in a lot of areas. Perhaps, it is something that could continue in a smaller way in the future, he added, and while there are other products out there he doubted the quality is as good.

Mayor of Athlone-Moate Municipal District Cllr Aengus O'Rourke said Cllr Farrell's points were well made and he had no problem supporting the letter being written to Minister Eamon Ryan.

Concluding the discussion, Cllr Farrell said a meeting between BNM and the IFA was due to be held in relation to bedding supply for 2021.

On the long-term impact, his concern related to jobs and with a Just Transition there should still be room for horticulture, Cllr Farrell stressed.

“We can't just close it down overnight. This (change) should be done over a transition period,” he concluded.

At Cllr Louise Heavin's suggestion, the letter from Athlone-Moate Municipal District will also be sent to Just Transition Commissioner Kieran Mulvey.