Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this vital issue for my area. As I am from west Offaly and having been brought up in Belmont, in Ferbane, I am very well aware of the importance of energy generation to the economy of the area, not only for employment but to generate electricity. As children, all of us were very aware of that growing up. One third of our land mass is comprised of peat so it is no surprise that, for generations, peat harvesting was crucial to the area. We were fortunate enough not to experience emigration at a time when others regions did.

The transition from peat harvesting in the midlands will be enormously challenging. It has been flagged for a number of years but, unfortunately, the decision by An Bord Pleanála in respect of West Offaly Power has accelerated it. That is causing a great deal of concern for the workers, their families, the communities and those of us who care about this issue in terms of public representation both at local and national level. I am aware also that the Government - I thank the Minister in this regard - has been very concerned about this matter. The Minister has made every effort, as has the Taoiseach, in establishing an interdepartmental committee in the Department of the Taoiseach. That shows how seriously the Government is taking this issue. I welcome that. I want to acknowledge the Minister's visits to Offaly. This issue is of huge concern and his visits were very welcome.

I refer to the implications for Offaly County Council and the hole in funding this will create for it.

It has been very proactive in the just transition team forum which it put together, the midlands transition team. It is welcome to hear of the positive efforts being made. However, we must never forget that the impact on the workers and their families is at the heart of all this. We must ensure there will be no lack of clarity for them in terms of what they are entitled to access, training and upskilling and the impact on their pensions. We must be clear that they will get everything they are entitled to get.

I also welcome the announcements in the budget about the various funds. One in particular, relating to bog rehabilitation, was strongly welcomed. A number of the workers had identified this as an area in which they could be well employed for a number of years. I hope Bord na Móna will be able to apply to the climate action fund to ensure the workers have access to further employment to bring them to retirement age, which is what many of them want. Unfortunately, I have run out of time. It is most important that the workers, communities and our county are at the heart of this just transition.

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