Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, for being here. It is crucial that we talk about peat, transition and climate change, but who is talking about people? Who is talking about people and about jobs?

We are talking about peat. I live in Ballinasloe. Less than 10 km from Shannonbridge, there are seasonal workers who have lost their jobs. I know people who have lost their jobs. Roscommon has been hugely impacted by the loss of the Lanesborough facility. We are in the midst of a just transition or, at least, we talk about being in the midst of a just transition. How just is this transition in Ireland? According to timelines, the impact of the closure of the ESB and Bord na Móna was not planned. They expected to be operational for another number of years and that there would be a transition plan in place.

We talk about the EU and the EU banning this and that. That is not the case. To be very clear, the EU supports a just transition. It supports a transition to impact the social and economic status of families and people, particularly people in the west of Ireland who are affected. In the west, we are already at a disadvantage. In the urban centres we can talk about a just transition when we have access to public transport. We can talk about a great transition when there are so many jobs in our city centres. How many jobs are there 10 km from Ballinasloe or 40 km from Galway city when one is a seasonal worker? What just transition is there?