The Green Party has called on the Government to do more to protect people who have lost their jobs at Bord na Mona.

Leader Eamon Ryan TD has called for a new 'Just Transition' Commission to be set up to ensure a far transition to a low-carbon economy.

He said: "As Ireland's economy inevitably changes, as we move away from a fossil fuel based energy system, and work towards a low-carbon economy, the Government must do more to protect those vulnerable to job losses.

"In the coming weeks the Green Party will be bringing legislation before the Dáil, similar to Bernie Sanders' Clean Energy Worker Just Transition Act, to protect Ireland's environment and at the same time to make sure that workers, like those in Bord Na Mona, are not left behind. Some of the Bord na Mona workers whose jobs are under threat are the third and fourth generations of their families working on bogs since the 1940s.

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"We want to see a 'Just Transition' commission established which will work within a new form of social partnership. We need to bring the affected communities, trade unions, businesses, climate transition experts and Government together to see how we can overcome obstacles to a fair and just transition to the low carbon economy.

"We are calling for the remains of this PSO levy for peat – €120m a year - to be re-directed into a fund that will pay for the re-training and redeployment of workers over the next few years. Using that subsidy to promote the retrofitting of buildings, we can create three or four times the number of sustainable jobs and help the public cut their energy bills at the same time."

(CD/LM)