Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was about to say the Minister was also very proud of his roots. There are plenty of bogs in County Roscommon.

I cannot overstate the importance of Bord na Móna to County Kildare on many levels. They include the heritage and ecological system of the bog, horticulture and the employment the company has provided in the past eight years. Only last week, at a meeting of Rathangan Tidy Towns committee, we discussed celebrating the heritage and employment benefits delivered by Bord na Móna. People moved from other parts of Ireland to work for the company and settled in places such as Timahoe, Kilberry, Coill Dubh and Allenwood in County Kildare. Their families have become part of the area.

The Rathangan poet William A. Byrne has written many poems about the bog, including the following four lines:

I was the broom and crooked heather,

I was the moss that grew,

But time has moulded us together,

Beneath the years of dew.

While I accept that Bord na Móna is operating in a challenging environment, we must also ensure the company's long-term viability. Not only is it facing a challenging business environment, it is also in transition. It currently supplies peat to the three power stations in the midlands. I understand the plant in Edenderry has reduced its use of peat by 40% under a carbon neutral initiative while maintaining the same number of jobs, which is crucial.

Does the Minister support the concept of co-fuelling, an approach that certainly appears to make sense? Does he continue to support a managed transition from peat to other fuels in the period to 2030? Such a transition period will be important because it will give Bord na Móna an opportunity to enter new areas of business.

Yesterday evening and this morning we received word that there were to be job losses at Bord na Móna. I understand 45 jobs will be lost in ten locations, including seven in Newbridge and four in Lullymore, both of which are in County Kildare. I invite the Minister to visit the Lullymore Heritage Centre close to the Bord na Móna operation in the area to show him what a wonderful job people in the area have done to celebrate the importance of the bog.

To address the more important matter of job losses, it is fine if it suits people to take a redundancy package or leave the company. However, there are many Bord na Móna employees who are not in a position to do so. I call for consultation on the job losses and a commitment to be given to sustain the company's other jobs in County Kildare.

My colleague, Deputy Barry Cowen, and I have been calling for funding raised by the carbon tax to be ring-fenced and reinvested in renewable energy technology. This would give Bord na Móna a future and ensure continued sustainable employment in County Kildare and the midlands generally.

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