Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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140. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of jobs either directly or indirectly created by the just transition programme which has been introduced to compensate for the closure of peat production and sale in the midlands. [24506/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Government is committed to a just transition in the Midlands region and has dedicated significant funding to supporting workers, companies and communities affected by the closure of the peat-fired power stations and the end of peat harvesting by Bord na Mona. The Government approved funding of €108 million for Bord na Móna’s large-scale peatlands restoration project, which will see Bord na Mona reassign employees from peat harvesting activities into rehabilitation operations while supporting the natural environment and biodiversity of the peatlands. This plan and the National Parks & Wildlife Service Peatland Scheme will  support 350 jobs; taking seasonality into account, this equates to 230 full-time equivalent roles. 

The Just Transition Fund has finalised grant agreements totalling €1.2m with 16 "strand 1"  projects. These projects have reported that they will create 28 full-time jobs and support a further 175 indirect jobs in the region.  A further 47 projects through Strand 2, with a total funding value of €27.8m, have received provisional offers from my Department. It is expected a significant number of additional jobs will be supported by these projects and I will be in a position to provide a further update on this once these projects have grant agreements in place in the coming weeks.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is delivering the €20m Midlands Retrofit Programme, through which at least 750 local authority homes will benefit from retrofitting works by the end of 2021. Home retrofits are highly labour-intensive so this investment will drive expansion of labour activity in the construction/ retrofit sector, leading to preservation of existing and creation of new jobs.

 A Territorial Just Transition Plan is being prepared by the department to avail of up to €77m EU funding from the EU Just Transition Fund with a similar level of match funding from the exchequer. It is expected that a significant element of this will be committed to eligible projects in the Midlands supporting employment in the region.