Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am acutely aware of the situation with Bord na Móna as is the Minister, Deputy Bruton. As I explained earlier, work is ongoing to ensure it has a just transition. I will speak more about that.

The climate action plan foresees that the NESC will publish a periodic review and strategic advice on the just transition. This will include an examination of the range of national and international funding opportunities, and how these could be used to underpin the work of this group and the priorities identified. The first periodic review and strategic advice will be published by the end of 2020, and is intended to be a key input to the formulation and adaptation of a five-year just transition strategy.

The Deputy spoke about the implications for Bord na Móna. It will be a significant milestone for the region that by 2028 Bord na Móna will end the harvesting of peat for power generation. The Government is committed to supporting the company in its transition to the development of new businesses in herbs, aquaculture, resource recovery and renewable energy. Existing initiatives and structures in this regard, include: the regional enterprise plans to 2020; the regional steering committees which oversee these plans as live agendas; the current regional mandates of the enterprise agencies and regional assemblies; and the regional spatial and economic strategies. These initiatives will be mobilised to maximise enterprise opportunities to deal with the challenge faced by Bord na Móna.

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