Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Government must be much more active in helping create these new jobs in the renewable sector. Facilitating the movement of people into the sector while achieving our climate targets and fair and full employment in this country are indelibly linked. This is incredibly important for areas like the midlands, which currently has more than 3% greater unemployment than the rest of the country. The redirection of the peat public service obligation subsidy to the retrofitting industry could support more than 3,000 jobs, for example, with an average of 26 jobs per €1 million spent directly, indirectly or induced.

In creating a great economy, I suggest we must do two things. We must invest in new and renewable sectors and incentivise private businesses to do the same. We must also ensure that nobody is left behind, with new jobs created and retraining or reskilling options available to harness the wisdom and expertise of generations of people who have worked on making energy production in this country as efficient as possible. This is the new economy and we cannot afford to be left behind.

See this speech in context