Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Garvey for her presentation and for all the work NESC has done on just transition. A considerable amount of research documentation has been produced. It is very useful to have that available. During the development of the climate legislation, some members of the committee expressed concern that the principles of just transition and the definition just transition were not incorporated into it. Is NESC concerned that no concrete definition is available for policymakers, politicians or even people in the community to fully grasp what it means.

Does NESC see its work reflected in the policies and decisions that are being made currently? I understand that we do not even have a just transition commissioner. Kieran Mulvey was the previous commissioner and his term ended in December. His remit only covered the midlands; we do not have a national commissioner at the moment. The Government proposes to have the Bill to start the process in this regard by the end of the year, which means there will be quite a gap. Is it problematic that we do not have a just transition commissioner and commission in place at the moment? There is a risk that we are moving quicker towards emissions reductions without having the just transition framework and mechanisms in place, leading to the risk of people being potentially left behind. I am not sure who is best placed to answer that.