Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice and the committee for facilitating me. The just transition was announced in the budget. I represent Littleton in County Tipperary where the plant was closed last year. I wrote to the relevant Minister and contacted his Department pointing out that Littleton must be part of this process because no Government can discriminate against people in a part of Tipperary where a factory closed recently. I played a central role in bringing Sabrina Manufacturing Group to the area. This company is working with Bord na Móna and I acknowledge all of the work that it has done. I did some work for it today coming in here. I hope its engineers will arrive soon and the company will open with its first 40 jobs here. In reply to a parliamentary question, the Minister indicated that he would accept a submission to have Littleton made part of the just transition, including the just transition fund. I accept and welcome that statement. I will bring people in the area together in the coming days and weeks. Do we make submissions to the just transition commissioner who has been appointed or is there another process that we can avail of? What advice can the witnesses give me on this issue? People living in the area around Littleton deserve to be treated the same as the other communities involved by this Government and any future Government. What is the practical process involved in this?