'Economic madness' to import peat - TD
An independent TD has told Taoiseach Micheál Martin that it is "economic madness" to import peat while at the same time criminalising the commercial sale of peat in Ireland.
Independent TD for Offaly, Carol Nolan, has warned that the Environment Act 2026 risks becoming a “stealth” ban on domestic peat production, leaving Ireland’s horticulture sector and food producers dangerously exposed to imported supplies.
Deputy Nolan raised the issue directly with the Taoiseach during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil.
The Offaly TD said: “While the government has already instituted a ban on the commercial sale, advertising and retail of turf, the Taoiseach’s response confirmed the long-term policy direction for peat when he explicitly stated that the trajectory of travel has been trying to wean ourselves off commercial extraction of peat.
“We are importing thousands of tonnes of peat and briquettes into this country every year while at the same time banning Irish people from buying turf from their local shop.
"Indeed, former Minister Charlie McConalogue previously outlined that 32,000t of peat were imported into the country in 2022, and staggeringly over 30,000t of that came from Northern Ireland.
“So, we can ship in peat from the Baltic states and the counties around Belfast, but you can’t buy it from a shop in Banagher.”
Nolan said that it is "economic madness" to criminalise the sale of Ireland's own domestic resource.
“We are already seeing the impact of the turf sale ban on rural households. Now the latest Environmental Act threatens to finish off what remains of our domestic peat industry," the independent TD continued.
"Small-scale producers under 30ha, which are the backbone of supply for Irish horticulture are telling me that because of this Act, they face being reclassified under expanded regulations in Section 99H that now capture past and potential activity as well as current extraction.
"The major fear is that this will push the vast majority over licensing thresholds and force them to close.”
Nolan said such a move will result in the domestic peat supply effectively ending.
She claimed that growers, especially in the mushroom sector, will be forced to rely on imported peat that costs approximately double and is vulnerable to supply chain issues.
"This does nothing for the environment, and it simply exports the problem abroad while undermining Irish food production and rural jobs," the TD said.
“What we need as a matter of urgency is for a practical, legally robust framework with appropriate environmental screening and clear exemptions to allow sustainable domestic supply to continue.
“Many in the industry fear this is a stealth piece of legislation designed to achieve through the back door what the government has not been able to do openly, and that is shut down commercial peat extraction entirely."
Deputy Nolan said she hopes to meet with the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien, to seek immediate assurances and the reintroduction of targeted exemptions for small-scale peat producers.
