Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to touch on a few matters that are particularly important to the part of the country in which I live. When the debate was adjourned yesterday, I was about to deal with carbon tax.

There are three Deputies in the Roscommon-Galway constituency and I am the only one who supported the introduction of carbon tax. I do not like taxes and I do not like the carbon tax. We have to be particularly careful in rural areas not to be pushing people too much on carbon taxes but our party is trying to recognise the need to revitalise our area now, particularly in view of what is happening with Bord na Móna. The Turf Board was established in the 1930s and Bord na Móna was established in 1946. For more than 60 years it has kept the local economy going, particularly in the area around Mountdillon, Lanesborough and the Loughrea power station. In recent years there has been a massive reduction in the number of workers at the ESB power station in Loughrea. Now, the position of Bord na Móna is going to change completely. Our party wants to see how we can help communities because, as the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Canney, knows, communities in our part of the country will be very badly hit by this development.

I live only a few minutes from the Loughrea power station and all the Bord na Móna workers live near my home. Regardless of whether we talk about Loughrea or Shannonbridge, there is no doubt that a serious situation is developing. Bord na Móna workers were told only a year ago that just transition would occur over eight to ten years. They are now being told that it will happen in one. Our area will be a black spot unless the Government gets serious about coming up with new ideas. That is why, in the context of discussions on the budget, our negotiators, the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party and our Front Bench insisted that there would have to be a just transition fund. The fund is for the communities, not for the Bord na Móna workers. The problem in this regard is two-pronged. First, there will be damage to the communities and, second, there is the prospect of unemployment for Bord na Móna workers. Some people will accept redundancy packages. It is great to talk about repairing the bogs but it will not be possible to have the same number of workers in Bord na Móna as used to be the case. It is extremely important, therefore, that a just transition fund and just transition commissioner are put in place as quickly as possible. The goalposts have moved dramatically for Bord na Móna in the context of my part of the country.

I welcome the €5 increase in the living alone allowance. The increase of €2 a week in the fuel allowance is not enough to compensate people who will be hit by fuel poverty because of carbon taxes. The National Treatment Purchase Fund will not solve all the ills in the health sector but Fianna Fáil fought for the extra money. I hope that money will in some way help to shorten waiting lists and assist people who have been waiting for treatment for a long time to get the care they need.

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