Agriculture Committee resumes discussion on peat shortages and meets with the Beef Taskforce

The 9:30 am meeting will be broadcast from Committee Room 1 and the 3:30 pm will be broadcast from Committee Room 3 of Leinster House.

The Committee will meet with the following representatives.

• Meeting 1 - (9:30 - 11:30) - Representatives from Growing Media Ireland CLG (GMI)
• Meeting 2 - (15:30 - 17:30) Representatives from the Beef Taskforce

Speaking in advance of the meeting, Cathaoirleach, Jackie Cahill TD, said: “The Committee again has a busy day ahead with two meetings, where we resume our discussion on the impact of peat shortages on the horticulture industry and engage with and discuss the work of the Beef Taskforce.

In our first meeting, we will meet with Growing Media Ireland CLG (GMI) who represents most horticultural peat producers in Ireland, large and small (excluding Bord na Mona). Their members harvest horticultural peat for both professional horticulture and the retail market. GMI members harvest horticultural peat on non-designated bogs and employ around 6,600 direct and 11,000 indirect employees in the Irish Horticultural Sector.

The Committee wants to hear from GMI and their members on the impact the peat shortages will have on their livelihoods and businesses and whether the Government plans and the work of the Just Transition Commissioner will help keep these businesses viable in the future. This is an urgent issue and the sector needs clarity from the working group on peat moss in the horticultural industry.”

The Cathaoirleach added: “The Beef Taskforce was established by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed TD, on foot of the Irish Beef Sector Agreement in 2019. The Beef Taskforce remit is to monitor the implementation of the actions arising from the agreement reached and provides for a robust implementation structure for commitments entered into in the Agreement, with timelines and stakeholder engagement. It also offers a suitable platform for strategic engagement with key stakeholders including retailers and regulatory authorities.

The Beef Taskforce was established to address the crisis in the beef industry. And one of the key areas that stakeholders wanted addressed was transparency on pricing. We have seen instances over the last few months of drops in prices by meat processors while market indicators forecasted upward trends. We need clarity on this issue, and we need to have the debate now. The Beef Taskforce was established to provide transparency. The Committee needs to see this transparency along with farmers, producers, and the wider beef industry. We look forward to having this conversation with the taskforce.”

The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

You can view the meetings in Committee Room 1 and 3 on the Oireachtas website.

More information can be found on the dedicated Committee Webpage. Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.