Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister of State on his role, which I am sure still feels very new to him. I know he has been flying the flag down in his constituency for a long time, so congratulations on all his success. The Labour Party will support this Bill and we broadly agree with the repurposing of the existing levy for ring-fencing and the funding of the new climate action fund. It is something that my colleague, Deputy Sherlock, raised last year when he was our spokesperson on climate and it is encouraging to see it implemented in this Bill.

We have some concerns regarding the collection of funds for the climate action plan in general and to ensure that the country is not placing itself in a position where it will be relying solely on the surplus or levies from the sales of oil products to fund vital climate action. We see this very much as a positive first step but it cannot be the only step. We cannot base our progress and efforts to end Ireland's status as a climate action laggard on the revenue collected from burning fossil fuels. To me, this seems to be in the long term rather counterproductive, but I understand that in the short term it is, I suppose, a good first step. I hope that the Minister of State, whether in this debate or future ones, will articulate further plans to better fund the climate action plan and put it on a sustainable basis.

Will the Minister of State address the issue of 11.5% of Ireland's oil reserves being located in Britain? Will the fact that these reserves are held in Britain present challenges, as Britain is, as we know, set to leave the EU either with or more likely without a deal in January 2021? Further to that aspect, I will be interested to hear the view of the Minister of State regarding the EU obligation for Ireland to store 90 days' worth of oil reserves. Does the Minister of State believe that this practice should be continued as we hopefully transition towards a greener economy? In a country where residents are suffering from such fuel poverty, is it not a skewed situation to maintain such large oil reserves, much of which is off our shores?

First and foremost, we must ensure that Ireland meets or, in the best-case scenario, exceeds its climate targets with the policies that this Government takes. We have less than a decade to change completely not only Ireland's course but the global path for emissions reductions. That said, the greatest concern for our party is that workers and households do not bear the brunt of the costs of meeting our targets and changing Ireland's course. The programme for Government states that we will be "spending €3 billion on targeted social welfare and other initiatives to prevent fuel poverty and ensure a just transition".

That statement seems vague and I understand such statements can appear vague in a document such as a programme for Government. Will these initiatives, therefore, go towards green jobs, green economic creation and the expansion of Ireland or is the Government planning to expand the welfare base rather than focus on the employment of people displaced through closure or bailing out of carbon-heavy businesses? By expanding the welfare base, does the Government envisage major job losses or does the Government want to truly ensure and commit to a just transition for workers?

Can the Minister of State ensure that a just transition will ensure that workers employed in high-pollution industries will have reskilling, retraining and alternative job opportunities before these jobs disappear in order to give them some light at the end of the tunnel and let them know that their futures are not only going to be ones where they survive but where they will thrive? I suggest that the vast majority of people in Ireland recognise the need for action, recognise that change must happen and recognise their responsibility to have a decent environment for the generations to come. What the people of Ireland do not accept is that the cost of this transition should be placed solely at the door of ordinary people, while companies and large industry in these sectors and other sectors, which have been mentioned previously as being the biggest contributors to the current situation, find themselves getting off relatively scot-free. Ordinary people must not be the first soldiers on the beach in the fight against climate change. We all have our part to play and we are all in this together but others have a greater responsibility and a greater capability to ensure that we meet our targets.

As the Government introduces carbon taxes, and taxes on high emissions, I am sure the people of Ireland will do their bit. Ireland as a nation is not one of climate change deniers and we very much value our environment and our beautiful island. As I said, however, the Irish people will not accept the task for large multinationals and covering up poor governance and failure to enact radical and progressive green policies.

The Minister of State should elaborate further on his plans for a just transition in respect of all the regions of Ireland. I refer to the large urban areas, but also our rural areas. Many of us acknowledge that some jobs in industry will have to be phased out as we transition towards a green economy and this may have less effect on urban areas where other industries and sectors exist. How will the Government and this Minister of State deal with the closure and phasing out of high-emissions industries in our rural regions? We have plenty of precedents of Irish government neglecting rural Ireland, particularly in respect of jobs. There is massive concern, particularly in the midlands, about this issue at present. We cannot simply say to people living and working in rural Ireland "tough luck, we have to do this". They must be looked after and they must be given a real future.

I will finish by stating that we must ensure that the infrastructure of green transport, green farming and green jobs is in place or comes in parallel with the removal of jobs in high-emissions industries. The worker must not be punished for being employed in these industries now and the worker must be central to the Government's strategy in a just transition to a green economy.

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