People Before Profit have tabled an amendment to the Sinn Fein Motion on the rising cost of home heating fuels.
The party are proposing that people who would be affected by the turf ban and who do not have an alternative to turf for heating should be prioritised ahead of September for the retrofitting of their homes under the Warmth and Wellbeing scheme. The party are also amending the motion to ensure that households affected would be included in an expansion of the Turf Cutting Compensation Scheme.
TD Bríd Smith, the party spokesperson on climate action, said: “It is vitally important that the government does not leave communities who have relied on turf out in the cold. We need a just transition for these communities so that they do not become victims of the necessary transition away from fossil fuel energy which has a massive impact on the climate and the respiratory health of people.
“With this in mind we are seeking to amend the Sinn Fein motion by giving people who have no alternative to turf to heat their homes access to free retrofits, provided by the state. We would also see them included in an expanded Turf Cutting Compensation Scheme.
“For climate action to be a success we need to make sure that no one, and no communities are left behind. We need the transition to be fair and just, and giving retrofit priority to households who rely on turf is a logical and just step.”
People Before Profit Amendment to SF Motion
Insert after “households in the Midlands”
“Further recognises that-
-the climate crisis is worsening and recent trends in extreme weather events confirm the need for radical action to reduce emissions and for a just transition,
-That bogs in Ireland are the equivalent of Ireland’s Amazon, being both spaces of biodiversity and a vital carbon sink, which must be protected”
And after ;“calls on the Government to”
Delete “scrap plans to ban the sale of turf from September 2022” and replace with;
“- ensure that the ban on the sale of turf in September 2022 is implemented in a way that ensures a just transition, by
– the expansion of the Turf Cutting Compensation Scheme to cover those affected,
*–*The extension offree Home energy upgrades and the Warmth and Wellbeing scheme to all households affected by the proposed ban, with the dropping of current eligibility criteria to access these schemes and the prioritising of those homes affected for immediate retrofits,”
Deputies Paul Murphy, Brid Smith Gino Kenny, Richard Boyd Barrett .