There have been many threats to the mushroom industry down the years, from moulds to mushroom virus X, from currency volatility to Brexit.
It now appears as though there is another contender in the shape of a court case rumbling through the High Court in Dublin.
In said case the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken an action against Harte Peat for an injunction to stop all wet peat excavation at a Co. Westmeath site.
Stalker is not au fait with all the ins and outs of the case, but Senior Counsel for Harte has stated that the granting of an injunction would have “extreme consequences” for the mushroom industry as his client is Ireland’s largest supplier of mushroom casing on which the industry depends to grow mushrooms year-round.
In an affidavit read to the court, Monaghan Mushroom Group (MMG) founder Ronald Wilson said that the industry “relies entirely” on peat for mushroom casings and that a decision in favour of the EPA would “devastate the mushroom industry within days”.
The case could go to a full hearing to examine the legalities of licences already granted for peat extraction.
Harte Peat says 50 jobs depend on its business continuing and the injunctions would also seriously impact on the mushroom industry in Ireland.
