A forum of industry stakeholders should be established with adequate funding to drive enterprise and jobs in traditional Bord na Mona regions, according to deputy Barry Cowen.
This would give the local workforce and community a say in attempts to drive replacement jobs following Bord na Mona’s revelation that up to 430 jobs would be lost in its new strategy plan announced on Wednesday.
This down-scaling announcement by Bord na Mona has come too fast, the Fianna Fail spokesperson for public expenditure and reform and Offaly TD added.
Cowen acknowledged that Bord na Mona’s announcement due to an earlier cease in peat production has come as a shock in terms of the extent of losses as the company outlined its future plans.
Confusion
He explained that the company’s targets of ceasing five years earlier than expected in 2025 and the fact that the ESB has not yet obtained planning permission for co-fuelling peat and biomass at its plants has led to confusion following the announcement.
Deputy Cowen said that he does not think the accelerated time-frame is fair, adding that a concern he has is that he does not see an effort on the part of the state to have a forum in place for relevant stakeholders on enterprise for replacement jobs.
“There is an obligation to ESB and the Government to ensure they live up to the commitment that they had given to apply for permission on the other two plants in addition to an extension to the Edenderry plant.”
Regional funding
He asserted that the Government must ensure that there is adequate funding available to assist the region.
“We’re saying in that regard you have a carbon tax; there should be a ring-fencing of a portion of that for this purpose; you have the loss of the public service obligation (PSO) that the state made to ESB to subvent and supplement the industry.
“There’s a saving to the state with that being eradicated next year; a portion of that should be made available. And there is an EU globalisation fund that can help and assist regions which are hit by the loss of such numbers of jobs.
“A precedent in relation to that was in the UK when the coalmine industry suffered similar losses that that fund was put in place.”
Stakeholders
Deputy Cowen said that, once funding is secured, a group of relevant stakeholders should be established to have an input into how such money would be used.
“Whether it be the local authorities, the local workforce, ESB, Bord na Mona, relevant educational institutions and local authorities in the area and public representatives.
I know there has been efforts at diversification in recent years: some successful; some not as successful.
“They moved into wind energy, they moved into solar energy; into waste management, they have made investments abroad one of which one ridiculous white elephant at the cost of €25 million loss in relation to White Moss in the UK.”
The Offaly TD recognised that there are opportunities there in terms of solar power, wind energy, waste management, herb-production, aquaculture and other such ventures, but contended that the locality must have a say on these.
“In order for the workforce in the locality and the region to have trust and hope in that, there should be this forum that feeds into that process and allows input on the part of the greater and wider community.
If they take ownership of the prospects, they will drive those prospects and ensure they deliver thereafter.
Because it is not only the workforce and their families; it is the whole of communities that is affected by this and the region itself; the service industry beyond the workforce itself is greatly dependent on the success of Bord na Mona.
“It has been the major driver of the economy since the 30s and the 40s,” deputy Cowen asserted.