Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In the Minister's constituency, only 6% of the electorate rely on fossil fuels, so it is easy for him to talk about a "just transition". He might be familiar with the television series "Star Trek" and the line "Beam me up, Scotty", but his just transition is beaming him from place to another and there is no transition for the person who has no alternatives. A total of 700,000 houses rely on fossil fuels, equating to approximately 3 million people, and Minister talks about a just transition. A just transition is about giving people a choice and an alternative to move from one option to another, but first they have to be given alternatives, not ultimatums.

Did the Minister know that his own Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action, chaired by Deputy Leddin from Limerick, has refused to meet representatives from the biofuel industry, which could reduce emissions in this country by using biofuel mixed with home heating oil? It would cut emissions by 50% until we find an alternative. Did he know that Euro 6 engines, in which we asked him to invest, could be filled with biofuel, which would reduce emissions by 10%? He has refused to let the representatives appear before the committee. He is not looking for alternatives; he is looking for his way or no way, and it is not a just transition. He does not see any alternatives except what is in his own little world. A just transition involves bringing people along and giving them alternatives. We have alternatives to lower emissions but he will not even let the representatives appear before the committee. That is wrong.

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