Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
PEAT EXPORTS FROM Ireland are over 11 times import levels as concerns grow that there is not enough supply for the domestic horticultural sector.
Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) to Noteworthy, the investigative platform from The Journal, shows that exports of peat have far outstripped imports over the past 20 years.
This includes the past two years since a landmark High Court decision effectively forced the horticultural peat industry to cease harvesting overnight. The sector supplies growing material to various industries, including mushrooms, fruit production, and professional plant growers.
While exports have historically made up the majority of the Irish horticultural peat market, Noteworthy can reveal as part of its PEAT’S SAKE investigation that a working group examining peat use in horticulture was not tasked with examining exports as part of its remit.
Aerial drone image of large-scale peat harvesting operation in Ireland Corkscrew / Shutterstock
Corkscrew / Shutterstock / Shutterstock
Planning and licensing headache
Following a long legal and planning battle since the early 2010s, the 2019 High Court ruling made it clear that companies engaged in large-scale peat extraction need planning permission and EPA licensing, both of which involve a thorough environmental assessment process required under EU law due to the climate and biodiversity impacts of peat extraction.
The majority of peat harvesting for horticultural use has taken place in the Midlands which contains most of Ireland’s unique raised bogs that, today, account for half of Europe’s entire raised bog network.
Nearly all major companies in the sector have neither planning permission or licenses – Bord na Mona is the only company that has EPA licences to date – throwing the industry into disarray.
This issue is acknowledged by the industry itself. In a submission to an Oireachtas Committee in February 2021, Growing Media Ireland, which represents most horticultural peat producers, stated that no company has planning permission for the harvesting of peat and “would be operating outside the law if they continue to do so”.
Following the ruling there have been widespread calls from the industry for emergency legislative changes to allow them to harvest again in 2022 as stocks of already harvested peat have dwindled, leaving the €477 million horticultural industry facing a crisis for supply of growing media.
Bord na Mona supplied nearly all the peat for compost for garden plant growers but in January 2021 announced it had ended all peat harvesting operations on its lands, with reserves expected to have run out by the end of May.
The mushroom industry relies on the use of a thin layer of peat casing on top of high-quality compost to ensure mushrooms grow in a uniform manner. In a submission to the 2020 review of the use of peat in horticulture, Walsh Mushrooms said that the industry is “totally reliant on peat in its current form to be able to operate”.
All eye on imports
This concern culminated in widespread media attention after the recent importation of a large amount of peat from the Baltic region that arrived at Drogheda Port in September.
The peat was destined for Klasmann-Deilmann near the Longford and Westmeath border. The company describes itself as a leading corporate group in the international substrate industry across Europe, Asia and America.
Reporting of the shipment led to a wave of calls from national politicians for emergency legislation to be brought in to allow the industry to recommence harvesting in 2022.
In 2021 to date, 42,800 tonnes of peat valued at €7.3m has been imported into Ireland. The vast majority came in from Northern Ireland, followed by the Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus.
Analysis of CSO data shows that there has been an increased demand for imports, with this year’s imports to date more than twice that imported in 2019 and 2020 combined.
It is also the highest amount imported over the past 20 years, although large amounts were also imported prior to the 2019 High Court ruling, with almost 20,000 and 25,000 tonnes of peat products imported in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
According to Growing Media Ireland, the concern from the industry now is that there is a lack of supply of materials needed for the professional horticultural and mushroom sectors.
The industry group claimed to Noteworthy that the stockpiles that were in place following the High Court decision in late 2019 “have been exhausted and the only viable source of horticultural peat at the moment is imported peat”.
It said: “The imported peat has an obvious environmental impact… compared to harvesting Irish peat, as well as a direct higher cost for Irish horticultural growers, and the 17,000 jobs that depend on the sector.”
Export-driven industry
However, the importation figures still pale in comparison to the amount of peat products being exported from Ireland, with over 500,000 tonnes worth €94 million leaving the country so far this year – 11.5 times import levels.
In 2020, when the industry was already raising alarm bells about shortfalls in the sector, 919,371 tonnes of peat was exported from Ireland.
The commercial horticultural peat sector has always been export focused. According to DAFM, 10% of all peat extracted in Ireland has historically been harvested for horticulture, with 90% of it exported as milled peat or for mushroom casing.
Advertisement
This is confirmed by the industry. In a submission to the 2020 review of peat use in horticulture, Bulrush – one of the largest companies in the sector – said that the industry “exists to supply an export market for substrates”.
Klasmann-Deilmann also said that the industry in Ireland “would effectively not exist without the export market”, with an estimated 95% of its peat exported. “With a few exceptions, revenues in the industry are mostly derived from exports,” it said.
The CSO data analysed by Noteworthy, however, does not differentiate between the different types of peat exported and it is unclear what percentage of exports would be suitable for use in the professional horticultural sector.
For example, a large percentage of exports in 2020 and 2021 went to the UK, the key market for amateur or hobby peat products such as gardening composts that is often not up to the standards required for the professional industry.
In a statement to Noteworthy, Growing Media Ireland said that the total export figure is “greatly exaggerated” as the figures include peat mixed with alternatives.
In addition, it said that domestic stockpiles were still being exhausted until very recently and that the figures for the full year “will be very different as the latter half of the year has seen exports collapse and imports soar”.
However, detailed international trade data for 2020 and 2021 seen by Noteworthy does show that professional grade peat supplies for the mushroom and other professional industries was exported to customers in North America as recently as this month.
In addition, the CSO data shows that there has been significant exports to the Netherlands, South Africa and Israel in 2020 and 2021, with the mushroom industries in these countries known to be destinations for Irish peat products.
Report findings
The concern over imports has formed the key talking point of a working group of stakeholders set up earlier this year to examine the future use of peat in the horticultural industry.
The working group includes industry representative bodies such as the Commercial Mushroom Producers, Growing Media Ireland and the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), as well as ICTU, environmental groups, Bord na Mona, the agri-research body Teagasc, and independent academics and experts.
The group’s report, coordinated by its chair and former chief scientist at Bord Na Mona, Dr Munoo Prasad, is now with the Minister of State Malcolm Noonan and awaiting release.
Noteworthy has seen a version of the final report, the contents of which were widely circulated in the media this week, that calls for peat in horticulture to be phased out by 2035 providing alternative materials become available.
The report also has a strong focus on provisions to allow for harvesting “from existing ‘ecologically destroyed’ bogs” to continue, so long as they have already been prepared for harvesting.
This would require amendments to the current legislation to allow for large-scale extraction that the report said is “absolutely critical for the 2022 season”, recommending new legislation “as a priority” by the end of this year.
The report also recommends that the importation of peat “should only take place under special circumstances e.g. to make up a shortfall”. The report, however, only makes scant reference to exports, briefly comparing the size of the export trade to the needs in the domestic market.
According to a spokesperson for Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE), which sat on the working group until recently, the level of exports still taking place “undermines the validity of the working group report”.
The group said that its representative was “assured there were no significant exports” taking place. The organisation recently stepped down from the group over the issue.
“[We] could not support the recommendations of the working group who were concerned only with finding ways around the law to continue to extract peat until transition in 2035,” the group claimed.
FIE sent an email to the chair Dr Prasad in October outlining the latest available CSO figures at the time showing large volumes of peat exports between January and July.
In a reply the same day, with Department of Housing officials in copy, Dr Prasad told FIE that “the export of peat from Ireland does not fall in the remit of my Working Group”.
Noteworthy asked Dr Prasad for comment but he said that he was instructed by the Department “not to comment on the report until Minister Noonan has officially approved the report and released the report”.
The Department was also asked to comment on this point and said that, while it would not be commenting on the report until after publication, “the Chair is correct to say that the export of peat did not fall within the group’s remit”.
According to Teagasc, switching to peat-free production will require “significant research and development of a range of alternatives”, with the Department of Agriculture funding a number of projects looking at substitutes and partial peat replacements.
***
Noteworthy will publish more articles as part of its PEAT SAKE investigation into the peat industry over the coming months as it delves into enforcement concerns and the future use of our precious peatlands as we transition away from harvesting.
***
This article was written by Niall Sargent of Noteworthy. It was proposed and funded by you, our readers.
Noteworthy is the investigative journalism platform from The Journal. You can support our work by helping to fund one of our other investigation proposals or submitting an idea for a story. Click here to find out more >>
We also have a number of climate and biodiversity-themed investigation proposals which you can view here.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
20 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
A man that managed to rub a whole nation up the wrong way and become totally hated.
He pused and bullied his way to the top and basically sneered at everyone.
He bullied the property tax into revenue
He tried to bully water charges and even suggested cutting supply to a trickle.
The people waiting in the long grass waited patiently and struck when hogans arrogance got the better of him.
@Michael Clinton: actually, he rubbed a vocal minority rabble up the wrong way. Majority of householders signed up to the water charges and understand water doesnt fall from the skies straight into our taps, and that it is better if our sh##t is not pumped untreated into Dublin Bay, or the waters off Lehinch strand.
@Joan Murray:
Well why didn’t the *so called majority* get off their larded backsides to protest to pay the tax…
I’ll tell you why Joan, it was because YOU are the minority.
People like you like to look down their noses at others, if you feel so bad then stop the nearest politician and hand him/her your money.
As for effluent going into Dublin bay, that only happens when flooding and rain deluges the tanks.
@Jacks R. Back: Your right Jack, it is a constant marvel to me how they manage to fool so many people all of the time. Admirable in a strange sort of way.
@Justin Gillespie: fool so many people? They have never been on government in the republic. FFG have been in government for over one hundred years. We have had Charlie and bertie and the burke’s and the Flynn’s. The list goes on and so much corruption.
@Brian Madden: Do you honestly think SF are any better? Stormont has been a shambles, the bullying at County Council level is well documented not to mention the Bobby Storey funeral circus, Martina Anderson & the Monaghan Co Councillor who decided to self isolate with her entire family in Donegal after a foreign holiday.
FF FG & SF are all the same, do as I say not as I do.
@Justin Gillespie: what about People before profit, The Greens etc. There’s more opposition parties than SF. Can you not just admit FF & FG are rotten to the core. Stop comparing.
@DCforChange: I don’t know how many different ways I can put this, every single one of them.
The parties you name are not alone corrupt but incompetent with it. The reason I name SF is because they are big enough to be leaders in a future government.
@ÓDuibhír Abú: Add in the Muslims, Sikhs, Jehovahs & jou begin to get the idea. Nobody is perfect, we are all corrupt & none of us has the right to point the finger at anyone else, we have all pulled strokes & taken shortcuts even with regard to Covid.
Loads of people who fly in do not respond to follow up phone calls. Up to 50% of those who are supposed to be tested as close contacts do not turn up for their second test.
Will they all get fired? Will they f__k!!
@Stephen Walsh: 100 years of FFFG with the backing of the Labour Party.
100 years of kissing Archbishops and Bishops rings and cover up’s.
And we still vote for them
Why
The Irish people know and admire a good politician when they see one. They also know a know a high toned skunk when they smell one. When Phil came from Brussels he rode rough shod over Ireland’s covid rules as if he was the law or God almighty. The law didn’t apply to him only the little people but he soon found out. The Irish people had their say eventually.
@Michael Clinton: just remember enda Kenny now works as an advisor for an American vulture fund within Ireland.him and that weasel Hayes are two beauties
I read recently he also said Ireland should look at raising it corporate tax, in order to access COVID-19 grants from Europe,he has a cheek to call himself an Irishman, he’d sell the shirt off his own back,
Ireland needs 23 beds for eating disorders - but seven years on, there's still no sign of them
Paul O'Donoghue
9 hrs ago
8.9k
30
Catholic Church
Vatican says Pope Francis 'rested well all night' in hospital, after 'slight improvement' in condition
Updated
1 hr ago
4.0k
7
Murder Investigation
American mother drops newborn to death from Paris hotel window
18 hrs ago
50.7k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 152 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 104 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 136 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 106 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 78 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 77 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 37 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 33 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 127 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 60 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 75 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 82 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 38 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 43 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 25 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 86 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 96 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 68 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 50 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 84 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 64 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say