Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I met Mr. Lucas fairly often in his former life, when he was with the National Parks and Wildlife Service. In fairness, he is pretty sensible. He is aware of the type of work we had to do. Consultants in hydrology, ecology and compensatory habitats were brought in. Articles 6(1), (2), (3) and (4) were involved. He knows the habitats directive inside out. Can something like that be achieved in the horticulture sector to resolve this issue?

My question for the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications is whether it has gone to Europe at any stage to talk about what we call a just transition and whether such a transition should be over five years or ten years. It is obvious that we do not have the solutions at the moment. Has the Department talked to Europe? Has it tried to prepare any legislation that would resolve this issue in the interim or wind things down as part of a just transition? I will tell both Departments represented here today that I do not buy into this idea. In Germany, 3,000 ha, including land on which there is housing, can be blown out for lignite up until 2039 or 2040. Other EU countries are sending peat and peat briquettes here. We seem to be the gatekeepers of Europe, if not the world, in the context of this type of legislation. How are they able to work around it while we are not? How are they able to keep working while we are not? How can they do so under their own legislation when we are in the same EU? I want the two Departments to answer the second question and I want Mr. Lucas to answer the first question about our previous work.