Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome our guests. Co-operation on a European level to protect the planet and reduce global warming through climate action is very important. The proposal our guests are putting forward seems to put sustainable development goals on the same level as industrial competitiveness. That needs to be examined. I agree with Mr. Petriccione that, while it may seem burdensome that we must reduce emissions and change habits, it presents opportunities for different types of economics and industries. That is the big change we must make and Mr. Petriccione might comment on that.

My other question relates to our failure. I was a Member of the previous Dáil which legislated five years ago for climate action. I expressed concerns at that time that we did not have sectoral targets or marked milestones or staging posts for reaching achievable, measurable target by stages. The concern is that we have drifted into our current position as a result of that. Will the witness comment on that? How important is it to have set carbon budgets?

My last question is about just transition. Like Deputy Corcoran Kennedy, I live in a part of the country where peat extraction for horticulture, domestic fuel and fuel to generate energy will be phased out. It is accepted that this must happen. However, it has already created much unemployment in County Laois, where I live. Some of it is caused by the phasing out of horticultural peat. Where previously there were up to 300 people working there during the summer, now there are three or four. Some type of package of matching funding is needed to assist Bord na Móna, in particular. Bord na Móna is a semi-State company and it is trying to move from the brown extraction industry, the extraction of peat, to regenerating biodiversity and renewable energy. It is trying to move from brown to green and it needs help to do that. It needs approximately €50 million, to quote the figure it has mentioned. Will the witness comment on that? We believe it would help the Irish economy, which has come through a difficult stage following the economic crash. We are beginning to emerge from that but this would help a part of Ireland, the midlands, where the income per head of population is much lower than it is in the Dublin region. We are anxious to create more balanced development, and it is a goal of the European Union not to have regions lagging behind.