Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate how intensely people feel about this matter. It was for this reason I spent time yesterday meeting unions, workers and public representatives and some community representatives. There is no doubt that this is a really difficult time. The anger and frustration was very evident.

The Government is determined to deliver a just transition. For me, a just transition is providing alternative employment opportunities that can be sustainable. As we know, peat was on an exit but it was expected to last for longer. We need to create job opportunities that will be permanent and can grow rather than be in a decline. Since this possibility first emerged from An Bord Pleanála, I have been working to put together the measures provided for in the budget, which point to a clear commitment to a just transition. As Deputies are aware, €31 million has been allocated: €20 million of which is for the retrofit scheme; €5 million for non-Bord na Móna activities on restoring bogs to a very high standard and €6 million of a just transition fund. In addition, as discussed yesterday, we have been working with the European Union to repurpose the PSO in order that we can use money to make sure that Bord na Móna can restore bogs to a very high standard. It is in this regard that 200 jobs will be provided, with 100 jobs on the non-Bord na Móna side. These are the 300 jobs referenced by Deputy Stanley.

There are many points that have been made here and yesterday concerning the future of the plant and the structure of tendering for business opportunities by Bord na Móna. I have taken on board those points and I will examine them, and many other proposals, with my officials. We took the step of putting in place a just transition commissioner in order that we could fully explore the many issues that are being raised. There are many opportunities coming from the communities. There are assets available from the two companies. I am determined that we will use this opportunity. I recognise, as others have done, that just transition is not just for 2020. It is a permanent part of our approach to carbon pricing. We have committed as an Oireachtas to move to a carbon price of €80 per tonne. We have been very upfront and honest that all of this money will be ploughed back into helping people make this adjustment. This involves a just transition for people uniquely exposed, as are the Bord na Móna workers and those working in the peat generation plants and, equally, people who are suffering from fuel poverty and people who need to make changes in their lifestyles. We want to harness this opportunity and make the midlands a leading exemplar of how we can move to a low carbon economy. This is, in part, what Bord na Móna is seeking to do in moving from brown to green. It has a diversification plan.

We need to work through the issues. Several Ministers felt the same sense of commitment that I do to make this work for the people of the midlands. I appreciate the frustration and the questions that need answers. We will work through and deliver those answers over the coming weeks and months and into the longer term. We do recognise that it is a central part of the climate action plan to manage this transition in a fair way to people directly affected. We will be committing to develop these ideas to the maximum extent possible.

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