Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 43:

In page 14, after line 7, to insert the following:“10. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection shall, within three months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report examining appropriate social protection services and casework supports for workers in industries likely to be scaled down by necessary changes in policy due to climate change in line with the ambition of the “Just Transition” framework.”.

This is squarely within the relevance of the Department and its social protection supports. The Minister spoke about the open door that exists for anybody who may wish to visit an Intreo office out of the blue but this is about having dedicated supports for people in respect of employment, training and education and the expertise within the Department and the various agents of the Minister in respect of social protection and casework. I asked the Minister about this previously at a meeting of the social protection committee and she indicated that we must wait for people to become unemployed and they could then access social welfare protections and supports.

It is important that, as part of a just transition, we do not simply wait, especially in sectors where we know there will be a limited timeframe of future employment and that, effectively, people may have from six months to two years of employment. This is not about individuals in work but entire sectors where there will be a scaling down of certain industries as a result of both climate change and the necessary actions in respect of climate change. Some will fall into the categories of self-employment related to elsewhere in the Bill, but some will not. Some will be working for Bord na Móna, for example, and there are industries in other areas.

I urge the Minister to consider how she might put measures in place to ensure that we are stepping up in advance and not waiting for people to be unemployed before we offer them support, by giving them the expertise, casework, employment and training support now, in order that people in vulnerable sectors can plan the next step for themselves and their families.It would be one of the most concrete contributions to a just transition that the Department could make if it could give that expertise by putting caseworkers, either in groups or as individuals, to work with sectors to see what are the options for somebody coming out of an unsustainable sector. What is the timing, for example, as this may make a difference to the options available when people are trying to make an exit from an unsustainable sector? It is about career planning for the future. I know we will see large cohorts of persons becoming unemployed, with great concern expressed and everybody saying we need to do something for these people right away, but would it not be better if we could spare those families the distress by ensuring as many people as possible have a plan in place before they become unemployed?