Nolan: Up to €176m could be available to Ireland in Just Transition fund

Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has established that increases to the EU Just Transition Fund could result in Ireland’s allocation rising from the current €29.9 million to €176 million, subject to the outcome of negotiations on the EU Budget.

Deputy Nolan received the information after she asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of a territorial plan for the Midlands region.

She explained that investments in EU Member States under the EU Just Transition Fund must be underpinned by a Territorial Just Transition Plan:

“The Minister has made it clear to me that because the EU Just Transition Fund is set to increase from €7.5 billion to €40 billion over the period 2021 to 2027, this now means that Ireland’s proposed allocation could rise to treble what it is at present.

“My main concern here is that any increase in Just Transition Funding would be entirely focused on job creation and job retention wherever possible.

“It is vital that commitments are made in this regard, not least because there are going to be enormous employment challenges facing the Midlands and Offaly in particular in both the short and the longer term.

“I am also happy to see that work on a Territorial Just Transition Plan has commenced in the Minister’s Department. This was an issue I had been quite critical about recently given the obvious sense of urgency there is in terms of accessing EU Funds and saving jobs.

“I would emphasise once again that any significant increase in EU Funding that Ireland receives must be directed in the main to creating long term and sustainable employment opportunities,” concluded Deputy Nolan.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive of Roscommon County Council has described the Just Transition project as “somewhat fluffy”

“I am not entirely sure what it all means,” he told a recent monthly meeting of Roscommon County Council.

The council had just heard a lengthy presentation of details included in the Just Transition project, under which funding will be provided for communities affected by the end of peat production in the midlands.

“We need to hear more about the IDA. Our model of creating jobs in the country is all about globalisation, it’s high-tech, it’s med-tech,” he said.

“These are problems really that were created by others and they have a responsibility and they have to be reminded of that,” he said.

“What I would say to yourselves, members, wherever you get a political chance - the basic question is what does it all mean?” he said.

It was all about “sustainable jobs, into the long-term future,” he said, however “if it’s about compensation then we should understand it to be compensation and let people get on with their lives,” the Chief Executive said, before going on to acknowledge the “considerable work” done by the Just Transition Commissioner, Kieran Mulvey, in defining the issues.