New €10m Just Transition Fund scheme launched

The second of the funding schemes under the EU Just Transition Fund has been launched.

With a budget of €10 million for two separate projects, the Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative Scheme will support the development of bioeconomy piloting and demonstration projects in the wider midlands area.

The ‘Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative’ will support the development of two bioeconomy piloting and demonstration projects in the Just Transition region of the midlands, which includes the counties of Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Roscommon, and the Municipal Districts of Ballinasloe (Co. Galway), Athy and Clane-Maynooth (Co. Kildare), and Carrick-on-Suir and Thurles (Co. Tipperary)

In making the announcement, Minister for Agriculture and Food McConalogue stated: “The bioeconomy has significant potential to improve the environmental, economic and social sustainability of the agri-food sector. For example, it is now possible to replace products produced from fossil-resources with those produced by bio-resources from land and sea, including new biofertilisers and biopesticides, high protein food and feed, bio-based plastics and textiles, and much more besides. Utilising biomass, including biowastes, from agriculture, food production and processing in this circular way means we can extract more value from our agri-food system while simultaneously improving overall environmental and climate sustainability”.

For her part, Minister of State with responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity, Senator Pippa Hackett commented: "I am hugely excited by the potential for Midlands farmers, community groups, research organisations, local authorities, SMEs and other enterprises to come together to realise the potential of the bioeconomy for this region and beyond. Through this year’s call we are seeking proposals to develop biobased products, services and jobs that will help us move to a more sustainable, climate-neutral economy here in the Midlands. I’m looking forward first of all to seeing the successful proposals getting up and running in the Midlands, and ultimately then seeing their pilot projects replicated across Ireland and further afield in years to come.”

Applications must be submitted online through Application Submission Portal - Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (flexigrant.com)