Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I speak in favour of Deputy Whitmore's amendments. The Minister will verbally agree that the idea of a just transition is not an optional extra but must be central to everything we do on climate action and the environment. On Committee Stage, however, he stated that a definition of just transition was not agreed for the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 and it would not be appropriate to include it in this Bill either. That is a mistake and it speaks to a fundamental misunderstanding of the central role of a just transition in achieving the changes we need. If a measure to achieve a circular economy or a policy aimed at cutting emissions does not fit a clear description of a just transition, then it simply will not succeed.

We cannot say to workers or to communities that rely on work or rely on services in aviation, plastics, agriculture, energy or any of the many sectors that must change radically that this is what we are going to do without giving them a clear vision of how this future will be better for everyone. I feel we have failed the Bord na Móna workers in this regard and we are failing households currently in energy poverty. Unless just transition is embedded into the very core of the policies and the laws of the State, these plans will fail. I urge the Minister to accept Deputy Whitmore's amendments.

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