The Irish government has been put under serious pressure to establish a National Just Transition Task Force after plans to redevelop an Offaly power plant were blocked.

The project at Shannonbridge power station was expected to co-fuel the facility with biomass. An Bord Pleanála rejected the proposal, raising concerns about the future of Bord na Móna and ESB employees.

This also comes on the back of job loss announcements at the Lanesboro peat-fired plant and Moneypoint power station earlier this month.

Fianna Fáil representative Timmy Dooley has called on the government to move forward with a Just Transition Task Force in order to secure employment and develop decarbonisation opportunities in the Midlands.

"The Government has been aware for years that the phase out of peat-burning and removal of subsidies would impact the West Offaly Power Station. However, Fine Gael's response has been completely negligent. Minister Bruton is deliberately disengaging and putting this challenge at the door of the ESB and Bord na Móna," Deputy Dooley said.

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"In response to the recommendation of the Citizens' Assembly that peat workers' rights be protected, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action stressed the need for social dialogue through the creation of a National Just Transition Task Force. Fine Gael supported the establishment of this Task Force this year, but it is absent from Minister Bruton's new Climate Plan."

He added: "The government cannot be allowed to wash its hands of this challenge. It must establish a task force to directly manage the just transition and engage with all stakeholders on necessary re-skilling and community supports."

Reiterating the plea for a Just Transition plan, Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan added: "The time to deliver a Just Transition plan is now. We are seeing the unwinding of fossil fuel industries in parts of the Midlands and we need to see this as a wake-up call and plan for the future of the workers there and the region.

"Just Transition is all about moving from a fossil-fuel economy to a sustainable, climate-friendly economy as quickly and as fairly as possible. We need to do this to halt the terrible damage being done to the planet and also to avoid the huge financial penalties that are coming down the tracks if Ireland fails to meet its carbon emission targets. However, we also need to think about the workers and communities that will be affected by this transition."

(CM/JG)