Mr. Billy Kelleher:

The purpose of the just transition fund is to ensure that we look after people and that people and regions are not left behind. It was specifically for the purpose of transitioning from coal to cleaner fuels, as mentioned by Mr. Kelly and others who are involved from the European perspective. I recall that Deputy Barry Cowen lobbied the previous Commission intensely on this issue. He engaged a great deal with the Commission to ensure peatlands were included.

When Shannonbridge and Lanesborough, which is further north, were wound down in terms of electricity generation, that had an immediate impact on people in the sense that their livelihoods were taken from them but there was nothing immediate in place to ensure there was a fair transition. There was a reduction in peat harvesting and the re-wetting of bogs, primarily in Offaly. Any assessment must accept that Offaly is the county most affected. When I met local authority members from Offaly and others my concern was that we would have a scattergun approach, politically we would try to include everybody and just transition would not have a meaningful impact on any particular community that was very much affected by the closure of peat burning facilities and the cessation of peat harvesting. For all of those reasons, I also hope the just transition fund is fair and does what it is meant to do, that is, assess the impact on communities when we decarbonise fossil fuels. When we take them out of the equation, we must have in place training and job opportunities and infrastructural developments that will transition people's lives as well. I hope that will be the case.

When I met the groups, I expressed the concern that we were trying to include everybody and every area in the just transition and it specifically was not for that purpose. The sum of €85 million was eventually made available, with matching funds from the Irish Government. I hope that will go to the areas most affected, which by any assessment is Offaly in terms of the impact decarbonisation is having on that area.