Mr. Willie Noone:

I know that, but if it was brought up and chipped in the north, it can subsequently be brought back down here. There are currently anomalies in the legislation which do not make sense.

The Deputy raised the matter of a just transition.

A just transition in all those formats suggests it should be just and fair. At the moment the shareholder has put out a redundancy package, and I believe the Deputy was on the media stating it was great to get this package out there. What it means in reality is that people in middle management and supervisory staff on a salary of approximately €40,000 to €50,000 are able to get up to two years salary plus statutory payments in a redundancy package, whereas the people on the ground, who are on basic pay of €350 to €450 a week, cannot do so. That is not fair or just.

That is the reality. It is grand talking about a pan-national just transition, and the Deputy raised the question of whether it should be done on a national or a regional basis. I am a Roscommon man. There are people in my area who have worked at Mount Dillon over generations. However, it does not come under the midlands because Roscommon is not in the midlands, and to have this done on a regional basis and thereby exclude them is not a just transition. They are people working in these jobs for generations. Somebody has to look at this and decide what is fair to the people in the midlands. Is it fair to come up with a plan that will help people in Donegal or Tralee who are not affected by Bord na Mona closing? There are people losing jobs at this time. Can we come up with something specifically tailored for the midlands that will come into effect in the next three or four years? If not, there is no point trying to cod the people in the midlands by saying we are going to do something for the people in Bord na Mona because, in reality, we are not, and we are just having a talking shop about it.

I face hundreds of workers daily who are asking, "What is it going to mean for me in three to four years?" I do not have the answers. I am looking for people in those constituencies, like the Deputy, to get down and meet those workers, to come up with real plans. I want them to tell these people, who may be 61 or 62 years of age, that they are going to get the very same as if they were working in a corner shop down the road, and that they are not going to get one cent extra in their redundancy package. There is nothing specific for this area. That is not a just transition. What we are looking for is something that can be tailored and that can be done.

Who will lead it? From an ICTU perspective, we are not hung up on who leads it as long as it is done. We do not care what political party badge anyone wears. Those workers do not care who delivers as long as it is done.