Stanley says not a single cent of Just Transition budget spent

Sinn Fein's Brian Stanley says the Just Transition process for the Midlands is way behind schedule after a parliamentary question revealed that not a single cent has been spent of the €36m allocated in the 2020 budget for the move away from peat in the region.

Deputy Stanley received three responses last week relating to the Midlands Just Transition Fund, Midlands housing retrofit project, and the Midlands peatland rehabilitation scheme.

A total of €36m was allocated for these three projects last October in the 2020 budget and to date, not a single cent has been invested.

Deputy Stanley said: “It is totally unacceptable that we are now into July and not one cent has been invested into the Midlands Just Transition project. People in Laois/Offaly have gone through a lot in recent years with a significant number of job losses at Bord na Móna and an accelerated withdrawal from peat harvesting. We were told that the Midlands would be at the heart of Ireland’s just transition to green energy.

“We were also told that the Midlands would set a high standard for how other regions across Ireland would transition to a low carbon future. What the people of Laois and Offaly need right now is progress. We need to see economic development in the region, and we need to stimulate the local economy".

The Just Transition Fund was established to support local businesses and environmental projects – yet not one euro of its €11m budget has been spent in 2020, the Laois/Offaly TD said.

“The Midlands retrofit project is there to reduce home energy consumption create construction jobs and get money into local suppliers. To date, none of the money has been allocated for specific projects and none are yet earmarked.

“Similarly, the peatlands rehabilitation scheme is there to provide employment in bog rehabilitation for redundant Bord na Móna workers - yet not one job has been created and none of the €5m allocation has been spent," he complained.

“While we recognise that Covid-19 has played a role in delaying many aspects of daily life, these are three projects which are way behind schedule, but preparatory work could have been done during the lockdown.

“We badly need to kickstart the economy in Laois/Offaly and these three schemes have a major role to play. Sinn Féin will make sure that the pressure stays on the Government to get funds invested as soon as possible,” he ended.