Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The next Topical Issue matter is in the names of Deputies Dooley and Carey. They will have two minutes each for introductory remarks. The Minister will then have four minutes, with a further minute for each Deputy to reply.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Communities in west Clare are shocked by the ESB's recent announcement that it will cut about 100 full-time positions at Moneypoint power station. We recognise that Moneypoint's days as a coal-burning facility are numbered. There is a date in 2025 by which coal will no longer be burned. That is in line with our climate change commitments and is widely accepted in the community. However, it was expected that there would be a comprehensive plan to assist the communities most affected and to assist the workforce in transitioning away from this carbon-intensive activity. Lessons need to be learned from events in other parts of the world where significant change has taken place and in the absence of government intervention, communities have effectively been dismantled. I have no doubt that the directly-employed workers will receive compensation from the ESB, but the wider community will be really adversely affected. There is a lot of support employment there. Contractors have already been let go. Nobody is talking about them. For a wage pool of that size to be taken out of west Clare represents utter devastation.

I thought the ESB and the Department would engage more fully. We spent we spent the last several months addressing climate change issues in the Joint Committee on Climate Action. A key aspect of the report which was presented to the Government was a requirement for it to put a plan of action in place for places like Moneypoint or the midlands, where the extraction of peat will not happen any more. We have recommended the establishment of a task force to manage a just transition. However, the Government's action plan includes none of these commitments. It seems to allow for job losses and abrupt closures instead of taking a planned approach to the changes required by our environmental commitments. The ESB must engage with the Department. Along with others, Deputy Carey and I had an opportunity to meet representatives of the ESB today. Sadly the ESB does not see itself as having a role as part of a just transition. It looks at this solely in economic terms. That is not good enough for the communities and people who will be most affected by this.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The first priority here is the workers and their families. They have been deeply shocked by the large number of jobs lost at Moneypoint. As Deputy Dooley has said, up to 100 people, who are highly skilled and well thought of and who are committed to this plant, will lose their jobs. The ESB has a very good track record in looking after its employees. At a meeting with the ESB today, I impressed upon its representatives the need to limit job losses as far as possible. Those who lose their jobs must be offered a generous redundancy package. It is essential that measures such as retraining and education are put in place. Moneypoint power station has been a driver of economic activity in County Clare for more than three decades. It has been a key employer, providing top-quality full-time jobs and significant work for contractors. It has even provided seasonal employment. It is essential that an alternative energy source is identified for the site as soon as possible in order that it can continue to play a positive role for west Clare and the county as a whole. There are alternatives, such as biomass and offshore wind power, and I acknowledge the ongoing work of the ESB in this regard. However, these plans must be produced without delay.

With climate change, the dawn of a new reality is upon us. Fossil fuel powered generating plants are no longer sustainable and we must find an alternative we can support. It is critical that we retain Moneypoint as a site for the generation of electricity to support jobs in west Clare and the county more generally. I ask the Minister to remember that the Moneypoint plant was once the backbone of electricity generation in Ireland. Up to 2012, it produced 5 MW of energy. This year it has produced 0.6 MW. I think back to the Ardnacrusha plant and the history of power generation in County Clare and appeal to the Minister. Ireland cannot turn its back on the Moneypoint plant and the people of west Clare. We are depending on the Minister and our local Minister of State at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Pat Breen. We must work together with the ESB to achieve the best possible outcome for the workers and wider economy of County Clare.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Carey and Dooley for raising this issue. I understand absolutely the concerns they raise on behalf of their constituents and the workers at the Moneypoint plant, in particular. As Deputy Dooley rightly pointed out, the use of coal to power electricity plants is to be phased out, with 2025 having been assessed as the date for the ending of such energy generation. The immediate challenge for the ESB is that the rising price of carbon in the emissions trading scheme has put pressure on the company. One of its plants did not get the capacity support to allow it to continue and the company has, therefore, had to initiate the consultation process on its future operation to ensure it will continue to be fit and competitive in such auctions. Clearly, the ESB must also look at the longer term future. I have met its representatives to discuss the matter with them. The company is undoubtedly looking at the future use of the Moneypoint plant, as Deputy Carey indicated, and seeking to identify the opportunities that may arise, including in the use of offshore wind energy and biomass. There are real opportunities for development in Ireland in the years ahead. In creating a pathway to these markets we are undertaking to review the Foreshore Act as part of the climate action plan to ensure offshore wind energy projects, in particular, can be developed. The Moneypoint plant would have a particular competitive advantage in that context. I am also seeking to bring forward the scale and frequency of renewable energy support scheme auctions that will allow for new renewables to come onto the system. I am working strenuously to ensure we can bring them forward in a timely way.

I recognise absolutely that part of a just transition is a requirement to look at the wider regional perspective. We have developed not only in the climate action plan but in the wider national development plan a recognition of the need for significant resources to support the transition. We have set aside resources to the tune of €1 billion for rural development, €1 billion for urban development, €500 million for climate action initiatives and €500 million for disruptive technologies. We will work with the regional enterprise strategies for the affected regions to develop the response. As part of the climate action plan, we have appointed the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, to oversee and have inputs into the work we are doing to ensure there will be a just transition. While Government policy has been designed to deliver this, the NESC has cross-social partnership representation and is engaged in a great deal of very useful economic analysis. It can, therefore, add significant value. I assure the Deputies that developing a road map for the future of the Moneypoint plant and the mid-west region is very high on the Government's agenda.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The written response circulated on the Minister's behalf states:

The challenge during the transition out of carbon intensive sources of fuel is to continue to support those communities and jobs associated with that business and to identify and develop new opportunities for employment.

What vehicle will be used to do that? I ask the Minister to establish a task force with the specific responsibility of securing a just transition for the workers and communities, including those who worked in supporting roles in the Moneypoint region. I appeal to him to appoint the task force and let this be a pilot project for the other tough decisions that will undoubtedly have to be taken as part of the decarbonisation of the economy. It is a very simple ask. Will the Minister establish a task force with the responsibility of managing the transition from the carbon intensive burning of coal to generate electricity at Moneypoint and finding the appropriate level of employment and support for the workers and communities into the future?

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We need an overall plan for the retention of jobs in west Clare around this critical plant. I support the call for the establishment of a task force involving the Minister's Department and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation. The Moneypoint plant is critical infrastructure which has provided significantly for west Clare. Without it, there will simply not be employment opportunities. As such, we need a task force to look at all of the issues that arise. We need to identify an alternative energy source to drive the plant, while retaining jobs which can ground future development.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The approach we have adopted is one I introduced when I was Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. Prior to my appointment as Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, we had no regional enterprise strategies, whereas now we have pulled together an enterprise group for the mid-west, on which are represented all of the key players one would need to have to develop a diversification strategy. They include Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, the local authorities and Science Foundation Ireland. In the ESB we have a key player in finding new opportunities in decarbonisation. It is a company which has the capacity to develop sectors such as biomass or offshore energy in a way no task force could deliver. The regional enterprise strategies which the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Humphreys, is driving and which have more than exceeded their targets in the diversification of the enterprise bases in their regions are the effective tools to bring this forward. The ESB is the key player in our energy environment that is identifying and adopting the opportunities onshore and offshore for the diversification of its portfolio. It is key to developing the assets at Moneypoint to ensure we can exploit the opportunities created by them. I am satisfied that the approach we are adopting will deliver the response for which the Deputies are, rightly, asking.