Ireland's workers fighting for a Just Transition Adrian Kane (bio) and Yvonne O' Callaghan (bio) Commentators and politicians of every hue regularly comment on the need for a just transition for communities reliant on fossil fuel industries. Regrettably, with its adoption by the mainstream, the phrase seems to have lost a large degree of its potency. The idea initially appeared to challenge the concept of 'creative destruction', which has been core to the dynamism of capitalism1. Typically, governments have not been pro-active or attempted to pre-empt the disruptive forces of capital. In the past, de-industrialisation across Europe and North America not only condemned millions of workers who were employed in traditional industry to joblessness, it also made redundant their way of life. The transition to a low-carbon economy in Ireland is currently replicating this experience for workers and communities who have been reliant on the fossil fuel industry particularly those in the midlands working in the peat industry and employed by related semi-state companies such as Bord na Mona. While extraordinary sacrifices have been demanded of peat workers and the communities of the Midlands, this has not been matched by the required supports from government or state agencies, in a manner consistent with the principles of a Just Transition. Overall, the experience of the low carbon transition process in Ireland has been overwhelming negative. To date, over 1000 jobs have been lost in this industry and there has been a signal failure to create new and replacement jobs and quality employment opportunities for the affected workers and communities, in a manner that would mitigate and offset the losses suffered. This contrasts sharply with far more positive experience of transition for workers and communities in Spain, Germany and Australia, for example. Until these deficits are addressed the entire transition process in Ireland risks becoming synonymous with job loss and lower living standards, with a resultant erosion of worker confidence and public support for much needed climate action. Seeking a future for Irelands Peat Workers In the consciousness of the Irish public for many generations the peat industry otherwise known as turf has been the centre of rural life, energy generation and steady employment. The 'turning of turf' refers to the Irish practice of harvesting turf which has traditionally involved cutting sod from the bog, laying it out to dry and turning it periodically and then burning it for fuel, particularly in Irelands power stations for electricity generation. With the industry so interwoven within Irish life and our communities, the need of a just transition is vital to safeguard the future sustainability and development of rural communities in affected areas. The concept of 'just transition' is not only preemptive, it also forces environmentalists to consider the social impact of rapid de-carbonisation on human communities. Prior to the mainstreaming of the concept there had been ill-considered calls by environmentalists for the immediate closure of the fossil fuel company Bord na Mona. There was a kind of public-shaming taking place by some commentators about the industries Bord na Mona had created or certainly that's how it was interpretated by people who lived and worked in the bog lands. At times the commentary seemed to be underpinned by deep-seated beliefs, conscious or otherwise, about backwardness and the bog in the Irish psyche. A subject which Minister Todd Andrews touched upon himself when establishing the Bord na Mona in 1946; 'the bog itself, in the Irish mind, was a symbol of barrenness and described the perception that anything to do with a bog spells inertia, ignorance and backwardness'. The great success of Bord na Mona, of course, was that it broke the link between poverty and the bog. The creation of the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) and Bord na Mona gave hope to the many impoverished small towns and villages throughout the midlands. During the 1940s there was a sense of a patriotic call to arms, as literally thousands of landless labourers flocked to the midlands, encouraged to save turf during the second world war due to the unavailability of coal. Many public figures of the day were enlisted to encourage workers to save...
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Dec 1, 2023
Elise Lefeuvre 
Open Access
