Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. It is welcome to see the trade unions involved because it is the workers we have to convince to make the change. How difficult was it in the case of Bord na Móna, which has been an iconic part of our history for so long, to engage workers in terms of telling them that changes have to be made to make progress? The witnesses might give a brief background on that and how they engaged workers to get to the table and make an agreement on shutting down the first of the plants. What negotiations are ongoing in terms of retraining or whatever?

We talk about rust belts. This is about the midlands and not bringing about desolation in towns and communities or for the families who live in them. It is about not depleting them of that population when such a significant industry is on its way out and the idea of getting public support for what will take place instead of what is currently in place.

This sector is one of the sectors the witnesses represent. How many men and women are in the sector? I imagine there are more men working in it and therefore the package offered will be weighted towards the men in the company. I refer to the socioeconomic effects of that, as well as the psychological effect, on the smaller communities around them.

In terms of an alternative use for the peatlands that will become free and reclaiming the wet agriculture for forestry, Russia has reclaimed extensive areas of peatland. I accept it may not be a country to compare and contrast with Ireland but it has done that successfully. I refer to common reed for construction material, paper, solid fuel, fish farming and water buffalo for cheese. I cannot think we will have that here but Russia came up with imaginative uses for the reclaimed peatland and reinvestment in terms of some of the workers. On the workers in Bord na Móna, what is the age profile of those who will be directly affected by this development?

In Russia, there have been health benefits from reclaiming the land in that the peat smog has disappeared. Russia is a very large country but the 20 million people who live in proximity to those lands are no longer exposed to that smog and there has been a decrease in respiratory diseases such as asthma and so. There has been an increase in respiratory diseases from air pollution exposure. According to the World Health Organization, 7 million people die from respiratory disease per year as a result of air pollution exposure. The reclaiming of the land has resulted in a significant health benefit for that area in Russia. It impacts on cardiovascular problems also.

As for the reconfiguration, this is the first time Bord na Móna has afforded this country an opportunity to implement the just transition framework. That could be the template for the thousands of workers who work in a carbon-heavy industry. We need to get this as right as possible to bring in public opinion and support for a move to a more sustainable environment.

This affects everything else, and transport is a major aspect. The number of people using transport to get to work has greatly increased and it is having a major impact. We talk about electric cars but people still will be reliant on using their own transport to get to work. Is there a way within the just transition framework to protect the environment and villages, small towns and even villages within cities, whereby we could have local hubs to which people can go to work? More people will be working from home, which will decrease the level of carbon emissions. Is that being taken into consideration or will all of us have to travel miles to get to work in the future?

What are the other carbon-heavy sectors that the witnesses believe will be impacted upon next? The Bord na Móna workers will be affected in this case but what is the next industry that will be impacted? The witnesses might outline, in chronological order, their size and impact in terms of emissions. I would be grateful if the witnesses could answer those questions.