Mr. Macdara Doyle:

On behalf of congress, I thank the committee for the opportunity to participate in what is a very inclusive consultation on this critical issue. I am joined by my colleague, Mr. Joyce. We will be happy to take questions afterwards should any arise.

With reference to an earlier discussion, I remind members that just transition is a trade union concept that originated within the trade union movement. A clear and comprehensive, and probably the best, definition of just transition has been drawn up by the International Trade Union Confederation. I would be happy to share that with members should they require it.

I do not believe that anybody who has participated in these hearings can be under any illusion as to the magnitude of the change we face or the sheer scale of the transformative change that is under discussion. Nobody at work today will remain untouched by this process. Equally, the opportunities and quality of jobs available for future generations will largely be determined by decisions that are made now. Therefore, it is imperative that the overall transition and decarbonisation process be underpinned by engagement and inclusive dialogue, especially with those workers and communities positioned at the front line of the change. As the workers of Bord na Móna and the communities of the midlands will readily testify to, our record to date has been quite poor. The obvious danger is that the very idea of transition will become synonymous with job losses and lower living standards, making it almost impossible to deliver. To be clear, we do not believe job losses and poorer communities are the inevitable outcome of the transition process but that they result instead from poor planning and bad policy.

What we see is a serious disconnect between official declarations and policy implementation. Successive Governments have repeatedly embraced the principles of just transition, as reflected in the 2015 Paris Agreement, the 2019 National Economic and Social Council report and the recent COP26 just transition declaration, but these principles have yet to translate into practice.

Congress welcomed the commitment in the climate action plan to creating a national just transition commission, for which we have advocated for several years, but the recently published annexes to the plan reveal the commission is unlikely to be operational until sometime in 2023. This is untenable. We therefore request that the committee act to ensure that this very key component of the transition process be prioritised and that an effective vehicle for structured social dialogue at national and sectoral levels be established without delay. The urgency of this task was underscored by the CCAC in its letter to the Minister of 25 October. This characterised "early and effective engagement with workers, local communities, business and social partners" as an essential step in the transition process, not something that happens afterwards.

The carbon budgets set out by the council provide clear targets and the timeframe to reach net zero by 2050, so we know where we have to go and how far we have to travel. Without a vehicle for structured social dialogue, we know roadmap yet to get where we want to go.

The next significant step in this process involves the agreement of sectoral emissions ceilings across the economy. These will have major implications for employment. Some of these we can predict. Jobs will be created in renewables but are likely to be lost in areas such as transport, but we do not yet know the number or type of jobs that will be affected, nor whether the jobs lost will be replaced by high-quality employment. We have an opportunity now to tackle this and bring some coherence, foresight and proactive planning to the process. To that end, congress is now calling for a new mandatory requirement that every sectoral emissions ceiling be accompanied by a comprehensive employment impact report. Such a report would have two key components: a full breakdown of the likely impacts on jobs - positive and negative - of the proposed emissions ceiling in each sector; and the concrete measures and plans that are needed to maximise job creation or minimise job losses. The process would be organised under the auspices of the just transition commission, when set up, and the impact report would provide the basis for full engagement at sectoral level across the economy. It is only through dialogue and early engagement that we can hope to restore confidence and build trust in the transition process. I thank the members for their time.