I am grateful for the opportunity, however brief, to raise this matter and I am very appreciative of the Minister's attendance in the House. I realise the Minister is very busy but the fact that she has not asked another Minister to deal with the matter is significant and indicative of her concern about this issue.
The consequences of the closure of the three peat-burning power stations in County Offaly have not been fully realised throughout the community. A question mark now hangs over the relationship between the ESB and Bord na Móna. The House will be aware of the huge importance of those twin industries to the provision of employment in County Offaly in recent decades. Towns such as Kilcormac, Daingean, Ferbane, Banagher, Shannonbridge, Rhode and Edenderry have relied almost exclusively on Bord na Móna and the ESB for employment since the 1940s and 1950s. We are now witnessing, through the stroke of a pen on the part of the ESB, a huge change in that relationship and in employment patterns throughout the county.
The ESB has announced the closure of Ferbane power station, and the closure of Rhode power station is beyond doubt although the date has not been finalised. I understand that the closure of the stations in Shannonbridge and Lanesboro, County Longford, is also imminent, although the exact dates on which the gates will close have not been announced. These closures will adversely affect more than 1,000 employees and their families who have depended on the ESB and Bord na Móna for their living.
The Minister, in a statement last week, stated that the ESB had informed her of its intention to build two new peat-burning power stations to replace the four which are being decommissioned. While that news is to be welcomed, it is cold comfort for the people of County Offaly. Only last week a national report revealed that income levels in the county are the second lowest in the country, with Roscommon at the bottom of the league. There is a clear need for all Government agencies and for the Minister and her colleagues to ensure that employment creation ventures are targeted towards the reduction of unemployment levels in County Offaly in an attempt to soften the blow of the huge changes which are to be carried out by the ESB and Bord na Móna.
The announcement of the two new power stations has occurred in a climate of uncertainty. We do not know where they will be located, how many people they will employ, the timescale for their start-up or their completion dates, nor are we certain of the ESB's future in regard to electricity generation from peat-burning stations. I hope the air can be cleared on this matter. I challenge the Minister to make a categoric statement in regard to the Government's future policies and the ESB's future plans in regard to peat-burning electricity generation.
The consequences for Bord na Móna are also quite bleak in so far as it seems that some of the plant in mid-Offaly will have to shift to the west of the county to accommodate a new station if or when one is built. That will result in redundancies and other problems in the middle and north of the county.
Bord na Móna will shortly announce a rationalisation plan which will affect the peat briquette stations in Offaly. While I understand two new stations are being built – although I await clarification from the Minister – nothing is planned for north Offaly consequent on the closure of the Rhode station which will add to the problem.