Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the hard work of the Green Party in drafting and bringing forward this Bill. As a representative of a county in the midlands, I am only too aware of the challenges posed by a failure to progress adequately the process of a just transition to a decarbonised economy. I am also aware of the frustration of my constituents in west Offaly where the future of the power station there is still uncertain and where clarity is needed. I forwarded a parliamentary question to the Minister earlier this week and I hope I can go back to the people of west Offaly with answers because there is a sense that communities are being left in the dark and that there is not enough clarity or engagement with communities, particularly in the midlands. This needs to be improved.

I have raised with the Ministers for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and for Business, Enterprise and Innovation many matters which need to be addressed. Both of their Departments have a vital role to play in the roll-out to 2020 of the regional enterprise plan for the midlands. In May, I was critical of the Government's delay in accessing a significant amount of EU funding to assist job creation and investment for the midlands region, particularly in light of the

ongoing impact of job losses at Bord na Móna. It is of serious concern to me. Most of the constituents I meet raise this issue with me so it is a matter of serious concern and we need answers and pragmatic solutions. I made it clear to the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation that initiatives such as the midlands enterprise plan are welcome and important but I also told her on the floor of the Dáil that there appeared to be a lack of joined-up thinking on the part of various Departments when it comes to addressing problems in the midlands. I specifically asked her to explain why there was no mention of the European Commission's coal regions in transition platform in the midlands regional enterprise plan. This platform was launched in early 2017, a full year before Bord na Móna made its announcement regarding the 430 job losses. The reason for its existence is to promote funding and structural investment in areas exactly like the midlands that have traditionally relied on carbon-intensive industries. Yet at that time, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation informed me that the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment only wrote to the European Commission asking for funding support a couple of months ago. We have lost valuable years in which jobs could have been created, particularly as the coal platform is already delivering tailor-made assistance to 13 pilot regions in seven member states. We also know that regions in Greece, Slovakia, Poland, Czechia and Germany have benefited from its support. This is to say nothing of the fact that in Silesia, which was the EU's largest coal region, €120 million has been ring-fenced to provide support to projects in the area of urban infrastructure and clean air and to prepare former mining sites for investment. This is exactly the type of funding that the Government should have been applying for on behalf of the midlands in 2017 in order to give us time to plan.

I acknowledge that having the pursued the matter further, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment confirmed to me in a reply to a parliamentary question that at the most recent meeting of the platform on 15 and 16 July, the European Commission announced that the midlands region has now been included in the platform. I welcome this development. As understand it, membership of the platform enables the midlands region to avail of the support of a dedicated country team comprising Commission experts to assist with the development of strategies and projects for the region focusing in particular on the employment challenges faced by workers affected by decarbonisation. The team will also assist in identifying appropriate EU funding opportunities for the midlands. The meetings of the platform also enable the exchange of knowledge and ideas between carbon-intensive regions. While no new EU funds have been set up under this initiative, the European Parliament has proposed a €5 billion budget line in the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, for the period 2021 to 2027, which is being negotiated, to support the just transition. I welcome this but counties such as Offaly and Laois must have immediate access to the funds that become available, particularly in light of the increasing threats to employment that we have seen very recently at Bord na Móna. These threats are being taken seriously. People are very concerned. What is happening will have a detrimental effect on communities and on the local economies in those communities.

What I would also like to hear from the Minister is a solid commitment that the funding provided under the platform initiative will be ring-fenced for the midlands region and that it will not be allocated in respect of a range of other strategies that may be of value but will do little to develop job creation in the midland counties, which need an urgent focus. We are lagging behind the rest of the State in many ways. We have the second lowest rate of income in the State. We need a firm commitment.

While I accept that this is an issue of national concern, Offaly and Laois are the counties most directly impacted upon by decarbonisation in light of the historical legacy and their dependence on organisations like Bord na Móna for employment. It is all well and good to have a grand vision of a decarbonised society and to tell people that there is a plan and a strategy to compensate for the inevitable disruption that this process will bring but families, workers and communities cannot live on sentiment, however noble.

They need to see a clear and dedicated pathway toward employment stability. I also call for a task force to be set up for the midlands region. This would be a pragmatic solution. If all stakeholders were involved, particularly unions representing workers, the outcome would be fair for everybody and nobody would be left behind. That is the core of what a just transition is. These families and workers are owed that, given the scale of the challenges that areas like the midlands are going to face. I conclude by saying that I support the principle of a just transition. The world and the employment realities in it have changed. I believe we can adapt, maintaining a balance with the past in the process of a just transition which is fair and built on common sense and pragmatism. The three things I would like to see with any transition are common sense, pragmatism and fairness.

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