Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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143. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the amount of funding provided for the Just Transition Fund; the amount spent to date; the progress to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9662/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Government remains 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 extraction by Bord na Móna.To date, my Department has finalised grant agreements with 55 National Just Transition Fund projects. The total value of projects in delivery is approximately €30 million, with €20.5 million of this to be provided by the National Just Transition Fund. These projects have reported that they will create an estimated 154 direct jobs and 932 indirect jobs.

Up to 25% of the approved grant amount, in the form of prefunding, may be available to certain projects, particularly in the community and voluntary sector, that may require funding to initiate their projects. In general, however, payments of grant assistance from the Just Transition Fund are based on vouched expenditure by projects, in line with Government policy in relation to the management of, and accountability for, grants from Exchequer funds. To date, approximately €1.15 million has been paid to approved projects.

My Department is working with a small number of remaining applicants with a view to finalising grant agreements with these projects in the coming weeks. Further information on approved projects is available at:

www.gov.ie/en/publication/ed10d-just-transition-fund

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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144. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the amount of funding provided for the peatlands rehabilitation scheme; the amount spent to date; if his Department has created the targeted number of jobs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9663/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Bord na Móna Enhanced Decommissioning, Rehabilitation and Restoration Scheme (EDRRS) was approved by the Government in 2020 for the enhanced rehabilitation of 33,000 hectares of Bord na Móna peatlands previously harvested for peat extraction for electricity generation. Initially funding was from the Climate Action Fund up the value of €108 million, but subsequently, the full funding was secured from EU Recovery and Resilience Facility on completion of agreed milestones.

My Department has paid €7,636,517 to Bord na Móna to date in respect of works completed for this project.The funding of the EDRRS supports a just transition by maintaining jobs in the Midlands, as well as laying the foundation for more substantial and sustainable job creation into the future. All available permanent and seasonal employees who had been involved in peat production have been provided an opportunity for employment by Bord na Móna on rehabilitation and greenway activities, including EDRRS, or other Bord na Móna activities. The peak number employed on EDRRS to date is 225. As is normal with Bord na Móna, due to the seasonality of the work and the available workforce, this has reduced in recent weeks. However the number employed is in line with the expectation for the first year of the programme. Rehabilitation plans for 2022 are currently being finalised and employment will ramp up again in April and May to deliver the 2022 rehabilitation measures.