Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I must unfortunately disagree with the idea that no party in this Oireachtas does not want workers' rights centre stage. The fact is Ireland is one of very few countries that are seeking to dilute or oppose new directives on workers' rights at European level. Specifically, Ireland is one of the countries that are effectively blocking the introduction of collective bargaining rights and seeking to do so. It is important to be clear: the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Varadkar, is opposing the strengthening of workers' rights in the European Union on our behalf right now. That is important to remember and that is why we want to create a counter-pressure on just transition. I am glad that the reference to employment is in the Bill attached to just transition and that the reference to supporting persons and communities is there. However, what our amendment does by bringing it into a definition is that it changes it quite a bit and strengthens it. We did get a lot of recommendations on just transition to the joint committee but one of the strongest recommendations we had again and again was for the Scottish approach, which is that there would be principles of just transition that would be reflected in how things were done under the legislation.Again, that was very strongly and widely recommended. It was one of the proposals that was rejected last week.

This new amendment is a compromise. I recognise that people feel very strongly on the issue. Senators Boyhan and Mullen tabled strong amendments on just transition on Committee Stage. The Sinn Féin and Labour Party Senators have put forward proposals. We have consolidated and put together a new amendment. It is important to state that it is not about just transition as a delay. I do not think that any of us regard just transition as being about not completing the transition or slowing down on it. In fact, the amendment explicitly uses the phrase "needed for a fast and fair transition to a low carbon economy". It is about putting the measures in place that allow us to do this well and early.

There are specific elements of the amendment that are important. They place workers and their trade unions centre stage. They mention communities, employers and public representatives, including local public representatives, who will have a role in terms of an input and insight into what it means for particular places in this country that are going to be hit hardest by the necessary transition and potentially, at the same time, by the impacts of climate change. Of course, some of the places what will be affected by the necessary transition will also be the same places that are being affected by climate change, for example, places like north Kerry and the flooding projections in that area.

This amendment does not just mention employment, but sustainable employment. I believe the Minister has said that he wants better jobs to be created. We have reflected that in the amendment. It advocates for the creation of sustainable employment and replacement jobs of equal quality. That is the minimum. It mentions new sustainable employment. It also mentions social supports, as well as training. There is going to be a need for direct social support for families where one of the family members may be a worker who is impacted by the issue. Crucially, the amendment recognises, but does not bind Ireland to, the International Labour Organization, ILO, guidelines on just transition. The language is carefully chosen. It states: "The just transition process in Ireland may reflect and draw on aspects of the International Labour Organisation Guidelines on Just Transition". It does not bind us to the ILO guidelines, but it offers them as a very useful resource in order that we can look to best practice on just transition around the world. In that regard, I must mention the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, which has done excellent work on best practice in just transition around the world. We must reflect on the learnings from places that have started the process earlier, such as Scotland and Spain, which are doing it quite well, and other places where it has been poorly handled. We need to learn from the best. Looking to the ILO guidelines will help us to do that.

I also want to mention that one of the important things about the approach of the amendment to just transition is that it works from the ground up. It is not just about supporting communities or employing workers. It is about listening to them and social dialogue. It is about ensuring that there are ground-up initiatives that come from communities and workers, which empower them. It is most important, because we do not want to see a just transition that simply works through companies. For example, we do not want to see funding going to companies in the hope that it will trickle down into new employment or new forms of action.

Unfortunately, we have seen some of that. I do not usually like to give individual examples but I will on this occasion, because it is appropriate. We have seen it in relation to funding for the cycling project in Lough Boora. It is an example of an unfortunate situation whereby communities led the transition, started a new engagement with peatlands and promoted cycling back when nobody wanted to cycle in these areas. The public procurement policies were designed in such a way that 50% of the weighting for the project depended on whether national contracts had already been awarded. It effectively and intrinsically meant that being awarded a local contract and having experience in the locality that was rooted in that place did not count, while being awarded national contracts in other parts of the country counted towards the 50% experience threshold. That is an example of the detail. It is one example of how we need to do it better.That is why we believe we should include a definition so that all the various public bodies and others who are engaging in processes relevant to a just transition, including those from every sector from horticulture right through to aviation, will have guidance from the Government with regard to what they need to consider when thinking about just transition.