Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like others, I welcome this opportunity. We never have enough time to get through all we want to get through save for reminding the Minister of State of the obligations that are on Government and of the commitments that have been made and to seek to ensure that those commitments are acted on and provided for and have the desired effect and impact. I am from the constituency that is arguably the most impacted by the acceleration of decarbonisation in recent years. We have seen the earlier than anticipated closure of power stations in Lanesborough in Longford and in Shannonbridge, Ferbane and Rhode in Offaly. We have seen Bord na Móna's industrial excavation of peat cease as a result of that and its commitment to decarbonisation has resulted in the anticipated closure of Derrinlough briquette factory in 2024.

This is an industry that has served our region so well since the 1930s and 1940s until the 1980s when there were up to 6,000 or 7,000 people employed in those industries. Bord na Móna was set up in the 1940s with a remit to develop that region and to ensure there were ample jobs and opportunities. It can no longer fulfil that remit so the onus and responsibility falls back on the Government to take up the mantle and provide for that process. In opposition, I worked with the then Government and the then Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, to ensure and agree that the increases in carbon taxes be ring-fenced for the purpose of just transition for the midlands region. Poverty-proofing provisions were initiated, in addition to other initiatives and the midlands just transition board and team were provided with ample funds.

I wrote to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste last week. I noted that the proposed territorial plan relating to the midlands just transition fund is due for final submission by Government and subsequent approval to the European Commission. I commend the Government on matching the already committed €84.5 million EU funding in the national development plan ensuring that €170 million will be put in place for the coming years. It is imperative that the procedure of submission and approval is done as soon as possible.

It is now almost three years since Councillor Eamon Dooley of Offaly County Council and I visited Brussels to meet the Commission. We made the case for the inclusion of the peat regions of Ireland in the fund already approved for the coal regions of Europe, providing necessary funding to assist those regions in responding to the acceleration of decarbonisation. Thankfully, that was approved and the new Commission and new Government ensured that was progressed. I also welcome what appears to be universal backing for the appointment of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly as the administrative entity to deliver just transition.

I further acknowledge the Government's commitment to ring-fencing the revenue derived from those increases to initiatives to assist in the transition away from dependency on fossil fuels. It is vital that the recently announced national retrofitting scheme should as soon as practicable accommodate a special provision for households currently dependent on solid fuels for heating purposes to be afforded an 80% grant towards the transition in addition to the installation grant already provided in the scheme.

I also encourage the Government to ensure policies and directives associated with clean air policy omit turf-dependent households and recognise their need to obtain that solid fuel either by virtue of their own property rights or by purchasing from local turf cutters with whom they have established commercial and personal relationships over many years. I agree that any such sales should not be advertised or transacted in retail outlets. I have no doubt that with the incentives mentioned together with the updated building guidelines the practice of turf cutting will cease organically in the years to come.

I highlight to the relevant Ministers my support for the recommendations Offaly County Council made in its submission during the consultation process on the territorial plan. I remind the Minister of State of the section which concurs with the conclusion of a comprehensive analysis carried out by EnvEcon which found that Offaly is the county most negatively affected by accelerated decarbonisation, followed by Longford, Westmeath and Laois. I have no doubt as a result of that and as a result of independent analysis and data that has been made available that targeted funding will reflect these findings from weighted multicriteria assessment. I know that my colleagues in Laois, Deputies Stanley and Flanagan, will agree with that contention and acknowledge the information that has been presented now as qualifying data to support that contention.

As the Minister of State will know, I have made a complaint to the European Commission about the activities of a dominant force in the electricity market in this country. I have contacted the European Commissioners for Energy and Competition. I met the Commissioner for Energy along with local MEP, Billy Kelleher, last week. I note the inaction to date on the part of the CRU, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Department. I urge the Minister of State to use his good offices to ensure that the Government is more proactive in this matter because the inaction over the dominant player's territorialism is part of the reason for Ireland having energy costs that are way out of line.

That is not just my contention based on the independent assessment and data that I have made available but in recent weeks a EUROSTAT report confirmed that Irish energy prices to households and businesses are 25% above the European average. It is a serious matter for industrial and domestic consumers. The Government needs to get to the root of this irrespective of the inferences, insinuations and assertions I have made which, of course, will be investigated. The Government needs to be sure that the ambition contained in the programme for Government has the potential to succeed. Some would argue that it is not as ambitious as it should be considering the vast wealth of resources we have off the west coast and the potential to create a pan-European supply together with our partners in Europe, especially southern Europe, regarding the wealth of solar power they have.

We can be at the front of a pipe rather than at the back end of one along with many other parts of Europe which are dependent on Russian gas today. I hope the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, initiates an investigation into the workings of the CRU, EirGrid and the wholesale energy market in this country to find out why we have not realised the ambition we had for the last ten years, never mind the great ambition that needs to be acted upon in the next ten years.

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