Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yes. Just transition is about allaying fears by involving those most directly affected. In Ireland, the areas of energy, transport and agriculture all need to undergo rapid transformative change. Hauliers, peat production workers, builders, mechanics and farmers will all be impacted. The sooner we start to plan for their well-being during this transition, the less social and economic disruption we will face. The point of planning for a just transition is that it is not just about climate change, but about people having decent and sustainable livelihoods.

A good example of this from elsewhere in the globe was articulated by our former President, Mary Robinson, in a keynote speech in Dublin last November when she referenced Port Augusta in South Australia where a coal-fired power station was to be closed down. In the five years leading up to the plant's closure, workers, unions, citizens and local businesses came together to research how to achieve a just transition. They developed a thermal solar plant that will create 1,800 jobs and save 5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. This is a story of how preparation and partnership can work to deliver positive outcomes for all.

This leads us to the Minister's announcements in respect of the midlands following the most recent budget. No matter what part of the country we come from, we all agree that the midlands region is the effective epicentre for the just transition. It is the test bed. I share the views of Deputy Chambers regarding the vagueness in respect of planning.

Notwithstanding the budget announcements, which we understand is the €31 million package for the midlands and the just transition fund, we still do not have sight of what that means in real terms for project delivery on the ground. We do not know, for instance, the detail around the proposed 500 jobs that will be created, as referred to by the Minister, between peatland restoration and the transition into alternative sources of employment.

I believe that we all agree there has to be a transition away from harvesting. I am sure my colleague Deputy Fitzmaurice will speak for the sole traders who are looking after their own little patch of raised bog in his part of the world. There is a case to be made for those people also. I certainly do not have sight of the detail around the just transition as it relates to the midlands. I would welcome a further response from the Minister to provide greater detail on what is his and the Government's vision for how the transition will come to pass.

I am aware that a retrofitting programme for housing was announced in the budget but the detailing of that has yet to be articulated by the Government. We all welcome a retrofitting programme but how will it be implemented and how can we ensure that people will transition from one form of employment into that type of employment into the future? The details of that also remains to be seen.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the matter. My plea to the Government is for it to provide this House, within a short space of time, with the details of what the just transition means for the midlands and how comprehensive the programme will be. We need to see the devil in the detail on that.

See this speech in context