Ms Patricia King:

The Spanish example, as I understand it, was an inclusive stakeholder forum and the employers took part. Regarding the European globalisation fund, we think strong arguments should be made in Europe concerning this issue. While the decline and phasing out of the production of fossil fuels is in the public good, that is an exigency that will bring about the end of people's careers through no fault of their own. From our perspective, therefore, there are perfectly good reasons a strong case can be made in Europe for the fund to be used. We think it would appropriate for that to happen, given the impact of the issues involved in climate change and a just transition.

Turning to skills, I am on the board of the National Economic and Social Council, NESC. I met the director of the council regarding Bord na Móna and he went down and met groups of workers. I will state this with great accuracy. The director of NESC told me he was very impressed by the level of skills, which he had heard about and had conversations on. He thought that was very positive regarding redeployment and alternative employment possibilities for the workers concerned. In respect of County Laois, we want this to be an all-inclusive forum. All of the relevant issues, including the impacts on people in the county, have to be on the table for discussion, if that forum is set up.