Government slammed for 'Mercosur for the midlands'
Independent TD for Offaly Carol Nolan TD has strongly criticised the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment’s, Darragh O’Brien, for what she terms his “complete failure to answer her parliamentary question on whether it is now Government policy to cease all commercial peat extraction”.
Deputy Nolan said the question was asked directly in light of the Taoiseach’s own statement to her in the Dáil that “the trajectory of travel has been trying to wean ourselves off commercial extraction of peat.”
However, the Offaly TD says that “the Minister’s reply contains no explicit confirmation, no denial, and no assurance whatsoever that commercial peat production will continue. Instead, the Minister simply listed an ever-growing thicket of planning rules, Environmental Impact Assessments, Appropriate Assessments, Integrated Pollution Control licences and EPA enforcement actions.”
“This is the clearest possible admission that peat extraction is being subjected to death by a thousand regulatory cuts,” said Deputy Nolan.
“Once again the Minister and by extension the Government, since this directly relates to the Taoiseach, has refused to be honest with the Irish people.”
“There is not one word in this reply that gives any comfort to workers, families or communities who depend on peat production.”
“The unspoken but obvious policy of this Government is to phase out commercial peat extraction entirely, while pretending otherwise in public. The people of rural Ireland, especially in the midlands, deserve straight answers. They deserve to be told the truth; that this Government’s end goal is to shut down domestic peat production and force us into even deeper reliance on imported peat and fossil fuels.”
“As I have said before, that is not environmental policy, it is extreme ideological incoherence dressed up as climate action.”
“We are closing down a strategic indigenous industry that provides energy security and employment, only to replace it with imports from countries with far weaker environmental standards.”
“It is Mercosur for the midlands.”
“The Minister’s refusal to give a straight answer today proves the Government knows how unpopular this agenda is, so they are trying to implement it by stealth. I am calling on the Minister and the Taoiseach to come clean. Be upfront with the people. If the policy is to end commercial peat extraction, say so openly instead of hiding behind bureaucratic language and regulatory creep,” concluded Deputy Nolan.