I congratulate Deputy Whitmore on bringing this Bill to the floor. It is well researched, well prepared legislation that allows for the establishment of what should be and must be a core part of the infrastructure that shapes Ireland's response to the climate crisis. As Deputy Whitmore described, we have two choices in how we face the climate crisis. We can see it in a way that allows us to flounder, to see the negatives and everything else, or we can see the opportunity that presents itself when we think about our response. For me, this Bill sets on a clear, statutory footing the important dialogue that needs to happen so that communities and workers are protected throughout the climate crisis. I want to introduce a couple of ideas within this concept. I believe that another crisis we are facing is the automation crisis that is coming about through AI. Automation is something we have to grapple with as a society. AI is currently proving to be a catalyst for labour displacement across multiple sectors, so it really is going to be disruptive in a way that we have not thought about as a society and that we are certainly not facing up to as a society or dealing with in any helpful way. I believe the just transition needs to deal not only with the challenges that the climate crisis presents to us but also those that are presented by automation. Another point I would add is that if we have learned anything from the Covid pandemic, it is that there is as much impact from a crisis that presents itself to society as there is from the State's response to it. We saw during Covid the way that certain cohorts of society were disproportionately impacted by the restrictions that were placed on society compared with the mainstream population. For example, we know that all children were affected by having to learn remotely, but those kids who were in care had a whole other suite of supports that were no longer available to them, including key workers, psychologists and so on. They had a very different experience of the effect of the Covid restrictions on them compared with the other children in society. It is important to recognise that Covid was a short, sharp crisis, compared with this, which is a much longer running crisis. We need to make sure, however, that the State's response to this crisis does not disproportionately punish any particular group in society. Well done to Deputy Whitmore and I welcome this Bill.

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