Govt inaction on peat puts 18,000 horticulture jobs at risk - GMI
18,000 jobs in the horticultural sector are at immediate risk unless the government introduces a workable system for the sustainable harvesting of horticultural peat.
The warning comes from Growing Media Ireland (GMI) ahead of an appearance at the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food today (Wednesday, June 24).
GMI, the representative body for the majority of growing media producers in Ireland, will today tell the committee that the country’s horticultural sector is "facing an imminent crisis".
The group will urge members to press the government to end years of "policy paralysis" by introducing a practical, workable regulatory structure.
GMI will say that such a system is long overdue following multiple government commitments and recommendations in official reports that have yet to be acted upon.
Peat
GMI is calling for a workable framework – similar to other European countries – that would allow the sustainable harvesting of horticultural peat while research into alternatives continues.
The group will tell the committee that the Irish horticultural sector requires just 600ha – 0.004% of Ireland’s total peatlands – to meet its domestic needs.
"Growing media producers have been left in regulatory limbo," said John Neenan, chairperson of Growing Media Ireland, said.
"The government has commissioned four reports since 2019, all of which concluded that while alternatives to horticultural peat should continue to be developed, Ireland needs a functioning mechanism to guarantee a domestic supply in the meantime.
"Yet no workable system has ever been put in place," he added.
Neenan said the current application process for harvesting peat on areas under 30 hectares is "unworkable, incoherent and impracticable".
"Not a single operator has successfully secured planning permission or a licence under the current regime since 2019.
"As a result, businesses cannot plan with confidence and thousands of jobs are now under threat," he said.
Horticulture
Ireland’s horticulture sector contributed €644 million to agricultural output in 2025.
The sector supports 7,000 jobs in primary production and a further 11,000 in amenity and downstream services.
GMI warned that the recently enacted Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 has added "further uncertainty" by expanding the scope of regulation to take account of historic and potential future peat extraction activity, rather than just current operations.
The organisation fears this could lead to a "more onerous planning and licensing regime" for remaining domestic peat suppliers, forcing some to cease production altogether.
GMI will tell the committee that it is not seeking weaker environmental protections, but a clear and workable regulatory system that allows the sector to operate while meeting environmental obligations.
"We fully accept that peat extraction must be subject to appropriate environmental safeguards, including environmental screening and, where required, Environmental Impact Assessment.
"Our concern is not the existence of environmental regulation, but the absence of a clear, consistent and workable pathway to comply with it.
"If the government continues to delay, it is jobs, growers and rural Ireland that will pay the price," Neenan said.
