A compost manufacturing company on the Longford Westmeath border is warning of thousands of job losses across the country if they and companies like them can't start harvesting peat again in the near future.Klassman Deilmann was established in Rathowen in 1981 and uses around 200 hectares of bog on either side of the Longford Westmeath border to extract peat for their compost blends.
It employs over 70 people year-round, and that rises to 110 when seasonal work comes into play.
While the company also makes some peat free compost it says that an impending shortage of peat for compost could force them out of business, as well as thousands of other people employed in the food growing and plant growing business in this country.
Klassmann Deilmann hasn't been able to harvest peat from its bog in the last two years because of a High Court ruling which says peat can't be extracted from any area over 30 hectares without planning permission.Managing Director Kevin Mahon says new legislation is urgently needed to allow the resumption of peat harvesting.
