Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and I apologise to the guests, because like Deputy Naughton I was caught in the Dáil on a health debate earlier, but I did get a chance to read some of the stuff, and I am reasonably familiar with some of the issues. I am not going to rehearse matters because I assume a lot of the questions have been asked. I was here for the ICTU presentation, and there seemed to be some concerns expressed there which I am sure have already been put to the committee, so maybe Mr. Carroll, to try to help us understand, would outline how he sees from a policy perspective the just transition commissioner being able to navigate those potentially choppy waters between all sides - the powers, the terms of reference and what ultimate control the commissioner will have. I have not had an opportunity to discuss this with him although he is somebody I have known by reputation and on a personal basis for a number of years. He certainly has the capacity to do it if he has the appropriate powers and the wherewithal, because to get a just transition, it clearly requires somebody with power and authority to bring all the sides together.

On the Bord na Móna side, it does not affect my constituency other than people who travel from my constituency to the location in question. I know others have addressed that matter. On the ESB side and around the just transition, I have been in touch with the ESB in the past about what role it would play, particularly in the decision to reduce activity at Moneypoint. I think it is well established now that an arrangement is in place where 100 workers over a relatively short period will leave the operation. While that might work from the company's perspective, it has a really devastating impact on the communities that are served by it. Of course, it was done in a collaborative way and people made lifestyle decisions and maybe are reasonably happy with what package they have gotten. If one takes them out of a community, that is a loss to the community because the spending power is very significant in the west Clare area.

It is also recognised that Moneypoint was a good employer of contractors, and we have seen over the past 12 months many of those contracts come to an end. There are a number of sole suppliers in that region as well, so it is often presented as only 100 workers there and that they are well managed, well looked after and sorted out, but it is greater than that. There really is an important function to try to establish this just transition. We must consider how we can protect the communities against that loss of income and how can we find replacement enterprises; it has to be more than just money. That is why I would like to hear from the ESB. Does ESB have any ideas around how it can utilise the existing site? This goes back to what Deputy Healy-Rae said in some respects. There is a lot of talk about the potential for the capture of offshore wind off the west coast of Ireland, so I am not going to reiterate for the ESB the value of its own asset because it knows the value of the interconnector lines between Moneypoint and Dublin and how difficult it would be to get those in place across the country now. That site is an important asset.

The deep harbour is an important asset. Does the ESB have a vision, or a process around which it is developing such a vision, to establish a position in the Atlantic Ocean to capture wind energy?