Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I wholeheartedly support the amendment. The Minister stated that the principles of a just transition are contained in the Bill but they are absolutely not. A just transition is referred to once in the entire Bill, and there is no definition of it or guidance as to what it means. This is a golden opportunity to incorporate it fully into the Bill and ensure we will meet our targets in a fair manner. I do not agree with the Minister that it has been incorporated. One reference is not sufficient.

Moreover, the thing about a just transition is that we have to be proactive with it. It cannot come after the actions and targets are in place. A proactive, targeted and focused approach needs to be taken, and it cannot happen after the fact because it will not happen properly. A reactive transition is not a good transition and it will not happen organically. In order to ensure the transition is done in a fair and just manner, we need to plan for it, and this amendment sets out how that can happen. If something cannot be measured, it cannot be addressed. The first step that needs to be taken is there needs to be an active analysis of which sectors and communities will be impacted and how they will be impacted, with plans set out to ensure that their needs will be met and that the direction of every Government policy will not undermine the right of those communities and those workers to access a just transition.

This is a really important initiative. The Minister has been referring frequently during this debate to the just transition commissioner in the midlands. The work he is doing is valuable but it has to be broader than that. Not just one specific area will be impacted but everyone will be. I have just read in my local newspaper in Wicklow that one of the Minister's Cabinet colleagues is quoted as stating that the Bill should not impact on and undermine farmers in Wicklow. The way to ensure that is to ensure a just transition because a just transition does not relate just to Bord na Móna workers but to the majority of our communities, and to farming communities as well. For the farming community, analysis needs to be carried out on how the obligations that will arise out of us meeting our targets could impact on them and how we can ensure they are not negatively impacted.

The amendment is really important. Despite the continuing references to them, two words in the Bill is not sufficient. The Bill will fall foul of the Government not incorporating and taking into account all communities in the transition to a carbon-neutral economy.