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Just Transition Commissioner

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2020

Wednesday, 13 May 2020

Questions (1008, 1009, 1019)

Carol Nolan

Question:

1008. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when he last met with the Just Transition Commissioner; the funding provided to the commissioner; if he is satisfied that the commissioner has sufficient staff and secretariat facilities to enable him to carry out his work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5247/20]

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Carol Nolan

Question:

1009. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of his most recent engagement with Bord na Móna as part of the just transition strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5248/20]

View answer

Joe Flaherty

Question:

1019. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when the report from the Just Transition Commissioner will be published in view of the fact that Bord na Móna is facing an increasingly uncertain future post Covid-19. [5499/20]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1008, 1009 and 1019 together.

I appointed Mr Kieran Mulvey as Just Transition Commissioner in November 2019, on a non-statutory basis, to facilitate discussions and work with stakeholders to develop, mobilise and deliver opportunities for the Midlands for both the workers directly affected and the wider community. Since the Commissioner's appointment, my Department and I have had a number of interactions with the Commissioner. I most recently met the Commissioner, via teleconference, on 19 March.  

Under his Terms of Reference, I asked the Commissioner to engage with all relevant stakeholders, including local community organisations, Bord na Móna, ESB, the Midlands Transition Team, Local Authorities, public representatives and relevant trade unions and workers' representatives. Detailed stakeholder engagement with Bord na Móna included site visits by the Commissioner to the Bord na Móna plants/bogs in Lough Boora, Blackwater and Mount Dillon, and engagement with employees and management on these sites.  

I have recently received the Commissioner's first progress report and I intend to bring this report to Government and to publish it shortly.  

The Commissioner is undertaking his work on a part-time basis, with administrative support provided by my Department. The Commissioner is also being supported in his engagements with stakeholders in the Midlands, as required, by the secretariat to the Midlands Regional Transition Team. I am now considering these arrangements following receipt of the Commissioner's first report, and in the context of the envisaged ongoing role for the Commissioner in relation to just transition in the Midlands.  

The Government has committed significant resources in 2020, through allocating a portion of the additional carbon tax revenue to be raised on foot of Budget 2020, to measures to support the delivery of an effective just transition for the Midlands. This includes €20 million for a new energy efficiency retrofitting scheme to be focused on the Midlands, €5 million for peatland rehabilitation outside of the Bord na Móna estate and €6 million for a dedicated new just transition fund with ESB agreeing to contribute an additional €5 million to this fund. The Government is also examining measures to support a much higher level of bog restoration on Bord na Móna bogs and to provide for a continued role for existing Bord na Móna workers on these bogs.  

I held a series of meetings in the Midlands on 11 November last with a number of my Cabinet colleagues (Minister Madigan, Minister Donohoe and Minister of State Moran), during which we had discussions with a number of local stakeholders on the issues to be addressed under a Just Transition plan for the Midlands. I have also visited the Midlands on a number of other occasions since the An Bord Pleanála decision last summer, including 31 July when I met with the worker directors of Bord na Móna, the Midlands Regional Transition Team, the Midlands Enterprise Strategy Chair, the Regional Skills Forum and local Oireachtas members. These engagements have also informed my subsequent appointment of Mr Mulvey as Just Transition Commissioner.  

My Department is in ongoing contact with Bord na Móna on a range of issues and I receive regular detailed briefings from officials as required.

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