Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael)
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A lot of issues have been covered by previous speakers, particularly by my colleague, Deputy Corcoran Kennedy. One of the presentations referred to the deal struck by Spanish unions in October 2018 as being a just transition deal with the Government in respect of the coal miners, and that there would be a fund of €250 million invested in those communities. Perhaps we could hear where that money has come from and what the process was for getting there.

We had Bord na Móna here a few weeks ago making a presentation. I am a bit confused listening to Mr. Noone because Bord na Móna indicated to us that the redundancies were being made on a voluntary basis and therefore it was for workers who wished to seek to be made redundant, at least at this juncture. Will Mr. Noone clarify whether that is the case? I would agree with Mr. Healy, as would everybody, I suppose. We have to be innovative in respect of new jobs. When Bord na Móna was here, it cited, for example, a tyre recycling plant that was being established with 50 new jobs in the area. This was an example of the sustainable type of industry that is required.

I wonder whether an application has been sought. Has Bord na Móna made an application under the climate action fund? Has it been suggested to it that it should do so? Are ideas forthcoming in relation to what alternatives there might be? We constantly hear that we are not hitting targets and that we are behind. In my view, we are often short on detail on what the alternatives might be. We have all established that there is a problem here that needs to be addressed. We need lots of ideas now, especially because we are drawing up a report. Solar farms and wind farms on bogs have been mentioned as alternatives. I assume that when those farms are operational, there will be an operational fund that will be paid for community benefit or gain. Is that what is envisaged when such alternatives are mentioned? Would the funding pool be used for entrepreneurship and for the development of alternative sustainable energies in this area?

I would like to make a point on a more macro level. The workers we are talking about are those in the energy and natural resources sector. When we talk about transition, we must focus on the people who have the most potential. I know the main focus has been on Bord na Móna workers. We do not need a crystal ball as we try to look at how this will affect them. The closure of Bellacorick power station in my home county of Mayo caused devastation from which the community is still recovering. The tower came down in 2010. The jobs were lost before that. We already have evidence of what happens in rural communities. I am just getting to my point. It seems possible that the just transition will hit people in rural areas hardest. The national organisations represent workers right across the board. I imagine that those who will have the fewest options are people in rural areas. We are feeding into policies like Project Ireland 2040 and the national development plan. We will have regional plans to implement those policies. To what extent is worker migration being considered? We are all about sustainability. The ideal is that we take workers, the imbalance is addressed and we see more sustainable growth in these rural areas. Do the witnesses feed into national policy in this area? Do they have their own policies on it? Would they agree with my assertion that workers in rural Ireland are going to fare worse than their counterparts who are represented by the unions that are here today? A worker in the fossil fuel industry in Dublin will have way more options.