Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 March 2019
524. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Parliamentary Question No. 539 of 16 October 2018, the terms of reference for the report on just transition due in early 2019 as mentioned by an official at the Joint Committee on Climate Action meeting on 17 September 2018; and the date for the likely completion of the report. [11473/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am currently preparing an All of Government Climate Plan which will set out the actions which must be taken to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change. I am working with colleagues across Government to develop new initiatives in electricity, transport and heat, as well as a range of other sectors. The All of Government Plan will build on the previous actions and framework put in place by both the National Mitigation Plan and the National Development Plan.
It is proposed that the new plan will include a series of actions aimed at further developing our analytical understanding of the socio-economic and distributional impacts of the low-carbon transition, ensuring that we design policies and measures to address both the challenges and the opportunities arising, and putting in place appropriate frameworks to support regions that are expected to be particularly impacted by the transition. This includes work to analyse the economic and employment implications of the transition to be completed by the end of 2019, in line with the timeframe committed to in the National Mitigation Plan.
The publication of the Government's Future Jobs Ireland on 10 March also reflects the importance of a just transition for Ireland and sets out a series of complementary actions, including commissioning the National Economic and Social Council to develop policy recommendations for consideration by Government for the operation of Transition Teams to manage the impact of economic transition on vulnerable workers and sectors. These may comprise: developmental supports for enterprises and sectors faced with challenges arising from the move to a low carbon economy; sustainable business models and new technologies; career advice and training guidance to managers and workers in sectors and job roles affected by future changes; accessible training to upskill and retrain such workers including through Skills to Advance as well as tailored development plans for them; and potential EU financial assistance opportunities for such a programme.
