Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Unfortunately, the Minister's response poses more questions than it answers. How many submissions has the Department received to date? I do not think the Minister gathers how serious this matter is. I remain opposed to the transition, which is not fair. The Minister mentioned its fairness but I can tell him it is far from fair. The Government is nonetheless steamrolling ahead and imposing this cost on people who are suffering from all sorts of issues, such as the cost of living. The Government is still imposing this cost. My main concern is we get a fair level of funding into the counties that are bearing the brunt of this.

The Minister also mentioned the publication of a report. Can we have a date for that? We need a plan here. We need dates and timeframes and, unfortunately, the Minister has not provided any of those.

Nowhere is it more applicable than County Offaly, which is expected to bear the brunt of the majority - 53% - of job losses associated with the just transition process. That is clear for all to see. It was also made clear to me by the cathaoirleach and chief executive of Offaly County Council and the corporate policy group of the council that the following issues require urgent consideration. Only 30% of the 47 strand 2 projects have received their final offer from the Department. Many strand 2 projects are still not finalised. Some 70% of projects are not yet at contract stage.

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