Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I do not need to tell the Minister that climate action is an enormous challenge for our country and, indeed, our planet. Warnings of increasing global temperatures have been made by scientists over the past number of decades. We can see ourselves that the climate is changing and we have been challenged to rethink how society will function through the changes that we as individuals, communities, business and industry must make.

I am from west Offaly, brought up in Belmont and Ferbane. Offaly is a county where energy generation has been a part of the fabric of life for decades since the establishment of Bord na Móna and the building of the ESB power stations across the county. One third of our land mass comprises peat so it is no surprise that peat harvesting for energy generation was focused there. Offaly experienced less emigration than many other counties in the 1950s due to the number of jobs available in Bord na Móna and the ESB. In parts of the midlands, small towns and villages grew rapidly when houses were built for Bord na Móna and ESB employees. The staff and their families contributed both economically and socially to their communities. As such, Bord na Móna has been an integral part of the commercial and social development of the midlands for decades, creating significant employment in the region. Employment peaked in Bord na Móna at 7,000 in the early 1980s and the company now provides approximately 1,500 direct jobs which in turn support at least another 1,800 indirect jobs. Consequently, Bord na Móna holds an iconic status in the midlands, particularly in my own county of Offaly, and is part of the social glue of many local communities.

The transition from peat harvesting in the midlands has been flagged for many years and it has been accepted by Bord na Móna and ESB workers that electricity generation would be peat free by 2027. The planned managed transition out of peat has been significantly impacted and complicated by the recent An Bord Pleanála decision to refuse planning for the west Offaly power station in Shannonbridge beyond the end of 2020. The application sought planning permission for the plant to co-fire peat and biomass until the end of 2027. The expectation was that, from early 2020, the plant would operate by gradually reducing the volumes of peat and increasing volumes of biomass so that, by the end of 2027, the station would be fuelled exclusively by biomass. This decision has huge implications for the workers, their families and communities. It has all the hallmarks of a potentially devastating blow to Offaly and the wider midlands area. This matter must be resolved for the protection of the workers and their families and a solution must urgently be found.

The Government and the EU institutions have all committed to a just transition for workers and it is an imperative that action is taken on this immediately. This will have significant implications for the wider economy and I repeat my call on the ESB and Bord na Móna to communicate in an open and transparent way with workers about this situation. Uncertainty and speculation cannot be allowed to reign and, to this end, I ask the Minister to consider meeting with the Bord na Móna group of unions. I understand that they have proposals on the work required to carry out the rehabilitation and restoration of former peat production areas. I will not go into the reasons for the An Bord Pleanála decision but suffice to say that I hope the ESB will seek leave to apply for judicial review of the decision. Time is running out and is of the essence.

There are huge concerns at local government level in Offaly as to the financial implications for Offaly County Council's rate base in the county. The rate base in recent years has remained static but it is of huge concern that, at present, the ESB's west Offaly power station and Bord na Móna's Edenderry power plant account for just over 25% of the county's rate base. This has the potential to leave a €4.5 million hole in the council's budget.

Offaly has made efforts to increase its own revenues locally with the local county councillors making a decision yesterday to increase the local property tax which will mean that 78% of households will pay no more than €33 extra per annum, but cumulatively it will make a considerable difference locally.

We are doing what we can at local level but Offaly and other midland counties require urgent action from the Government and our EU partners. We are being disproportionately impacted by the decarbonisation transition and will require financial assistance to allow Offaly make this transition.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am aware of her concern, having met her and other Deputies during the summer.

The climate action plan, which was launched in June, includes an increase in electricity generation from renewable sources from 30% to 70% by 2030. This includes replacing the use of peat and coal for electricity generation with onshore and offshore wind, as well as solar power. This will reduce our CO2 emissions intensity from electricity generation, which is currently above the EU average. The plan commits to early and complete phase-out of coal by 2025 and peat, as the Deputy stated, by 2028 for electricity generation. This is in line with the commitments under the Paris Agreement.

The three electricity generating plants in the midlands - Edenderry, owned and operated by Bord na Móna, and Lough Ree and west Offaly, owned by the ESB - have been planning for some time to reduce and eliminate the use of peat at the plants. Bord na Móna currently co-fires with 30% biomass. Both the ESB plants have been granted support under REFIT 3 for co-firing with 30% biomass. The ESB is in the process of seeking planning permission to co-fire with biomass at Lough Ree. A recent decision by An Bord Pleanála refused planning permission for the west Offaly power station to co-fire and eventually run only on biomass. The ESB is evaluating this decision to see if a revised planning application can be submitted to achieve approval. A planning application for the Lough Ree power station to co-fire with biomass is currently with Longford County Council.

As the Deputy indicated, Bord na Móna has been an integral part of the commercial and social development of the midlands for decades, creating significant employment in the region. In its strategy to exit peat, Bord na Móna envisages the development and scaling up of new business opportunities to ensure the future commercial viability of the company and enable it to continue its mandate as an employer in the midlands. It aims to develop a transition from peat or, as they say, from brown to green. The ESB is also fully committed to the process of decarbonisation. Following this decision, my Department and I are intensively assessing the options. lf an earlier exit from peat than planned is required, the Government is determined to ensure a just transition. I have met the board of Bord na Móna and its worker directors and the Oireachtas midlands representatives, the midlands regional transition team, the midlands regional enterprise strategy team and the regional skills fora team. I intend to meet shortly the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. There are several strands being explored to support a just transition, including Bord na Móna diversification, accelerated bog restoration by Bord na Móna, wider restoration of non-Bord na Móna bogs, an area-based retrofitting initiative and other special initiatives for regional development.

I have secured the inclusion of the midlands in the Platform for Coal and Other Carbon Intensive Regions in Transition, which supports regions affected by climate. I met Commissioner Canete in Brussels and he confirmed in July that peat is being included and that the region would be included as part of that platform. Membership of the platform enables the midlands region to avail of the support of a dedicated country team, comprised of Commission experts, to assist with the development of strategies and projects for the region, focusing in particular on the employment challenges faced by workers affected by decarbonisation. The team will also assist in identifying appropriate EU funding opportunities for the midlands. The meetings of the platform also enable the exchange of knowledge and ideas between carbon-intensive regions. A preliminary meeting of this team and officials from relevant Departments and other stakeholders is planned to take place in the middle of October.

The Government is committed to delivering a whole-of-Government approach in response to this and that a just and fair transition is provided to those affected. Following the final Government meeting before summer, An Taoiseach reassured the midlands that a just transition plan would be worked on to find alternative employment in the region. An interdepartmental group led by the Department of the Taoiseach has been established to develop a just transition plan for the midlands. This work cuts across a number of Departments, including my Department, Public Expenditure and Reform, Business, Employment and Innovation, Rural and Community Development and Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his response. I very much welcome some of the new information he provided on his intention to meet with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, which will be very helpful, and also that the county team will come to Ireland in November. It is crucial that the local midlands regional transition team would be an important part of the discussions with that county team.

I commend Offaly County Council, which has been proactive in the response to recent events and which has established a regional transition team, bringing together all the stakeholders in Offaly County Council - the elected representatives, the local enterprise office, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Bord na Móna, AIT and Offaly Local Development Company. That is a very good example of how everybody pulling together can be proactive in responding to it. The council is coming up with ideas and I sincerely hope there will be support for one of its aims, which is to explore ways the regional transition team can work with Bord na Móna to assess the viability of upskilling the Bord na Móna workers to carry out the work required under a deep retrofit scheme. Would the Minister consider Offaly for a pilot scheme to establish how we would get the deep retrofitting done? That would be important.

I acknowledge that the Minister turned the sod recently on an exciting project initiated by Lumcloon Energy. It is a battery storage project and is the next phase in the energy field in Offaly. I thank him for attending on that occasion.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. I assure her that the midlands regional transitional team will be central to the process the EU is now establishing whereby there will be a country team visiting Ireland.

I recognise that there will be issues about developing a retrofit and ensuring that there is a skill-fit. I am conscious also that Offaly has some very good training facilities in Mount Lucas where there is the capacity to do any necessary reskilling. I would certainly be sympathetic to trying to pilot something specifically in the midlands. As I have indicated in the climate plan, we need to find a way of scaling up the level of activity. Area-based schemes may be a good way to do that and it would dovetail with the particular needs that may arise.

I assure the Deputy that I and my staff, and the wider Government with the co-ordination role of the Department of the Taoiseach, is taking this very seriously. We recognise that to a significant extent this is a test of our capacity to manage difficult changes like this that are being thrown up by the climate challenge in a way that is fair to people and supports them to make the changes in their lives and to support a region that is particularly affected.