Carol Nolan presses minister on peat cuts and Midlands jobs

Minister, I want to ask you what measures your department is currently taking in order to support the retention and protection of jobs in the Midlands, with specific reference to Borden and Moana workers and indeed those working in the horticulture sector. Minister, the question is being asked in the context of a just transition process, that it is being escalated, an unfair just transition, it's not just. And also in the context of Borden and Moana's decision to suspend all peat harvesting for 2020, there is obviously significant concern around the impact of employment that these two realities have. And I want to call on you and indeed this government to support Borden and Moana in their appeal to recommence peat harvesting in order to safeguard jobs for as long as possible in the Midlands and particularly in Ophelia. Thank you very much indeed, Deputy Nolan. You're absolutely right. This is critical. The just transition that we seek in the Midlands has to be delivered. It's the first real test of the nature of the change they're going to make as we start to reduce our emissions at scale. And it's critical for Borden and Moana that we deliver alternative job opportunities to the sectors in the regions most affected and ensure that vulnerable groups are helped as transformative policies are implemented. The government is committed to such a just transition, recognizing the significant level of change required and burdens must be seen to be fair. This includes supports for work underway in the Midlands to deal with the challenges facing Borden and Moana, its employees and various contractors and businesses, including local services, depending on the current business model. A whole of government approach to addressing this challenge has been implemented, working with local stakeholders to ensure that the people impacted can be best supported. A just transition fund of 11 million euros opened on Friday the 19th of June and will be made available to support those with good project ideas in the areas of employment and enterprise training and community supports and to projects which can make a difference. The call closes on Friday the 17th of July and my department working with colleagues from other departments are preparing to review the project applications and look forward to being able to select strong project proposals and allocate money to the wider Midlands region. An implementation plan is being prepared by my department in response to the recommendations contained in the first report of the Just Transition Commissioner and urgent action has already been taken in some key areas. This includes both the Just Transition Fund, call for applications, as I just mentioned, and working with Borden and Moana to facilitate the advanced rehabilitation of bog previously harvested for peat used in electricity generation. Thank you, Minister. Deputy Norland. Minister, I thank you for that response, but I just want to take up one point straight away. You haven't answered my question as to whether you will support Borden and Moana in their appeal process to try and recommence peat harvesting in order to safeguard many jobs for as long as possible. We know that bog rehabilitation is spoken about, but that's only handfuls of jobs in comparison to what we have now. And I do want to remind you that, you know, this is a very, very important employment source for many, many workers in the Midlands and indeed in Offaly. But the reality for workers is completely different to what's written on paper, Minister. I mean, I've had workers in my offices, many of them with young children and mortgages, and we've seen many environmental groups who wave the green banner and who are aspirational, but have absolutely no consideration for the lives of others or for the communities or for the small businesses that are still struggling to get on their feet and have not fully recovered from the recession. So, Minister, what we need here is, instead of aspiration, we need common sense, we need pragmatism, and we need assurances that job creation will be a priority, and indeed job retention in the Midlands will be a top priority for this government. Because what we don't want to see is our area, our region, further decimated. It still hasn't recovered, as I said to you. Thank you, Deputy, on Tara. You're absolutely right, Deputy Nolan, and those constituents of yours have to be the centre of all of our attention. I should say, first of all, that regard to the cessation of peat extraction for either industrial peat or for power generation or for horticultural use is a matter which I think is being led by the courts. I don't think we as a political system can intervene in the judicial process in that regard, but what we can do is to start really promoting the alternatives that will create the jobs that give a sustainable future and, indeed, growth for Borden and Mona and other private operators involved in managing our bogs into the future. And that's not involving a handful of jobs, it has to be hundreds and thousands of jobs. And I believe, and I hope maybe, for example, we could look within the stimulus package to advance further measures that will use that expertise that exists within Borden and Mona workforce in managing bogs to see the storage of carbon, the benefit of the environment, but also a long-term jobs potential in the area. There's also huge potential for a company that, I'm conscious the time has gone, I might come back after Deputy Governor's. Thank you, Minister. Deborah Nola. Minister, I thank you for that response again, and I do understand the court system, but what we do need from you is more than goodwill. We need assurances, strong assurances, that you will support the retention of jobs for as long as possible, bearing in mind that this just transition was meant to be until 2030. Everyone was to be given a fair chance to adjust, we haven't been given that fair chance. And I'm just asking you, out of, you know, decency to the people of Offaly and the wider Midlands area, just to be fair about the whole thing. And also, Minister, I want to take one point up with you, that in terms of the solid fuels, are we going to see solid fuels imported into this country because of a decarbonisation strategy? Are we going to see something reflective of what happened in agriculture with the sugar beet industry? And then we saw imports, and we saw where wrong decision-making was made, because that's what I have fears of here, Minister. That's why we need aspiration replaced by pragmatism, common sense, and obviously meeting the needs of people in this state, and indeed the Midlands, because we will have fuel poverty. That's a cert, we absolutely will, and we will see imports coming in. And Minister, I'd just like you to answer those queries, please. Thank you, everybody. On Tara. Yeah, no, I mean, the problem for government commits, I think, within the lifetime of the government to move away for, or to solve the air pollution problem, which is a particular problem in many towns in the Midlands, by moving away from the use of all smoky products that add to the air quality problem, including importer, or especially targeting imported products. So that is an absolute commitment. Can I say, the new strategic plan that came out in response to this crisis facing the company, I believe, needs to be more ambitious again, particularly when it comes to employment generation. I believe there is a real opportunity for the company, not just in the area I mentioned of managing bogs, to restore biodiversity, store carbon, but also in the using of the logistics and energy skills the company has. For example, the retrofit program that we were talking about earlier, that actually, that is a perfect sort of project for Borden Amona to develop apprenticeships, to employ new, younger people who will have a 30, 40 year career in rolling out the scale of change we need to make. Similarly, in the development of renewable power, I believe the company has real potential in both wind and solar and other power supply systems to develop an economic base for the Midlands that is the best example of public enterprise, which is in the tradition of that company. It is those sort of initiatives that is where we can create jobs. Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Minister.