Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The EU Just Transition Fund (EU JTF) targets funding to the Midlands region (namely Laois, Longford Offaly, Roscommon, and Westmeath; and specified municipal districts in Galway, Kildare and Tipperary), to address the longer-term economic transition of the region arising from the end of commercial peat extraction and peat-fired power generation.

To date, €66 million of funding has been made available for projects that support the bioeconomy, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, regenerative tourism, and the implementation of local and regional economic strategies. Initial calls for community-based electric vehicle charging infrastructure and bioeconomy projects are now closed and grant awards will be confirmed shortly. Further calls are in development for the remaining €96 million of funding.

The Programme has three priority areas of focus.

Priority 1: Generating sustainable employment for former peat communities by investing in the diversification of the local economy, including by supporting productive investments in enterprise, SMEs, and in community support actions in line with existing local and regional economic plans, with up to €87 million available.

Priority 2: Supporting the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded peatlands and the regeneration and repurposing of industrial heritage assets, including support for wetlands restoration, the development of tourism trails networks and the scientific management of peat soils, with up to €57 million available.

Priority 3: Providing former peat communities with smart and sustainable mobility options to enable them to benefit directly from the green transition, including support for the electrification of Rural Link services, support for private bus operators to decarbonise their services, and for electric vehicle destination charging infrastructure, with up to €18 million available.

In terms of assisting job creation, Priority 1 will make funding available to SMEs through:

• The provision of €17 million, through an Investment Grant-Aid Scheme for Private and Community SMEs, launched in August 2023, as part of Fáilte Ireland’s Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme 2023-2026. This will deliver grant-aid to private and community-based micro enterprises and SMEs to help them improve the quality of the visitor experience with the ambition of attracting more visitors, increasing their dwell time, and securing overnight stays in the region.
• The provision of €5 million through a specific call under the Local and Economic Regional Strategies Support Scheme, to support the provision of skills, project expertise and infrastructure necessary to stimulate new economic activity in the low carbon economy. This call is expected to be launched in January 2024 and will be administered by Pobal on behalf of my Department.

Funding support for SMEs through Ireland's EU Just Transition Fund programme will complement other sources of Exchequer and EU funding available for assisting job creation in private enterprises. In particular, the EU Just Transition Fund programme is designed to ensure complementarity with the objectives of Ireland's European Regional Development Fund programmes and funding provided to Enterprise Ireland for the Smart Regions Enterprise Innovation Scheme under those programmes. This scheme is aimed at accelerating economic growth and sustainable job creation across all regions of the country and is currently open for funding.

The Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly is the Managing Authority for Ireland's EU Just Transition Fund programme and further information on all funding available under this programme is available on emra.ie/eu-jtf/.