Key Just Transition report does not "directly assess" Offaly employment prospects

Independent TD Carol Nolan has said that new parliamentary replies she has received raise serious questions about the assumptions underpinning the Government's Just Transition strategy.

Deputy Nolan was speaking after receiving confirmation from the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien, that although the key planning document underpinning Ireland's EU Just Transition Programme, the Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP), was informed by five expert reports, it “does not directly assess employment prospects in County Offaly,” despite the county being among those most severely affected by the end of peat-fired power generation and commercial peat harvesting:

"The Government has spent years pointing to plans, strategies, reports and projections, yet it now admits that the principal transition document does not even directly assess employment prospects in Offaly itself," Deputy Nolan said.

"That is a remarkable omission when we consider that Offaly communities endured the worst consequences of the move away from peat. Before asking people to trust the transition process, Government should at the very least be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of what its economic effects have been on the county most impacted by its decisions."

According to the minister's reply, the TJTP acknowledges that approximately 1,000 direct and indirect jobs in the peat sector were lost between 2019 and 2021. However, the Government's response relies heavily on Bord na Móna's stated aim of creating 1,435 jobs by 2026 as evidence that the transition is progressing successfully.

Deputy Nolan said that such projections do not reflect the experience being reported to her by many former peat workers.

"My experience from engaging with former and existing Bord na Móna employees is that many of them, and their families, continue to face uncertainty regarding their long-term employment prospects, future redeployment opportunities and the overall security of their positions."

"We know that Government and indeed state agencies frequently point to headline targets for jobs that may be created, but there is a substantial difference between announcing a target and delivering secure, sustainable employment that genuinely replaces what has been lost."

Deputy Nolan said the replies expose a persistent gap between official claims and measurable outcomes:

"We know that around 1,000 jobs disappeared from the peat industry, at a minimum. What we do not know is how many equivalent permanent jobs now exist in Offaly as a direct consequence of Just Transition funding.

"Indeed, when I asked how many full-time, permanent jobs have been created under the EU Just Transition Fund, the minister stated that it is not yet possible to determine the total number of jobs created because projects remain in their implementation phase. That answer will be deeply frustrating to communities who have been hearing promises about transition and regeneration for years."

The Offaly TD said that economic transition cannot be judged on the basis of employment ‘guesstimates,’ reports and funding announcements alone.

"For former peat workers, success is not measured by the number of expert reports commissioned or strategies published. Success is measured by secure jobs, stable incomes and confidence that the next generation can build a future in their own communities."

"People in Offaly have been forced to adapt to enormous economic upheaval. They are entitled to ask a simple question: has the transition replaced the jobs that were lost? Based on the Government's replies, we still do not have a clear answer,” Deputy Nolan concluded.