EU Just Transition Fund

Following approval by the Government on 29 November 2022, the European Commission adopted Ireland’s Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) and associated Programme, incorporating €84.5 million of funding from the EU Just Transition Fund for 2021 - 2027, on 15 December 2022. When national co-financing is included, this new Programme will provide for investments of up to €169 million, which will be targeted at the economic transition of the Midlands region for the period to 2027.

Ireland’s first Territorial Just Transition Plan sets out the impacts on the region as a result of the ending of peat extraction for energy production and identifies the development needs and priorities for the territory in order to address these impacts.

A public consultation on the draft Territorial Just Transition Plan was carried out in 2022, to provide all stakeholders with an opportunity to input.

The designated territory under the Plan and Programme includes the entire counties of Laois, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon, Westmeath, and municipal districts of Ballinasloe (Co. Galway), Athy and Clane-Maynooth (Co. Kildare), and Carrick-on-Suir and Thurles (Co. Tipperary).

The EU Just Transition Fund (EUJTF) is Pillar 1 of the European Union Just Transition Mechanism. The purpose of the EUJTF is to assist the most affected territories in transitioning to a climate neutral economy. See the EU Funds website for more information on the EU Just Transition Fund.

The EU JTF Programme sets out the investment priorities and planned allocation of up to €169 million of investments to address the development needs identified in the Territorial Plan. The programme will focus on three priorities, namely;

• generating employment by investing in the diversification of the local economy
• supporting the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded peatlands and the regeneration and repurposing of industrial heritage assets, and
• providing former peat communities with smart and sustainable mobility options to enable them to benefit directly from the green transition

The Programme is managed by the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA). For further information on Ireland’s EU Just Transition Fund Programme, visit eufunds.ie or contact the EMRA by email at eujtf@emra.ie or by telephone on 01 8074482.

The EU Just Transition Fund is part of Ireland’s cohesion funding, alongside other funds such as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and can support a wide range of investment such as in SMEs and start-ups, research and innovation, transfer of advanced technologies, affordable green energy, as well as decarbonisation of local transport.

The Local and Regional Economic Strategies Support Scheme (LRESSS), under the EU Just Transition Fund Programme, aims to provide targeted supports to projects that will boost communities and the economic fabric of the wider Midlands.

The aim of the scheme is to help implement bottom-up local and regional economic strategies to promote the generation of employment in the EU Just Transition territory by investing in the modernisation and diversification of the local economy.

Projects under the LRESSS span numerous sectors, such as circular economy, peat replacement for horticulture/bioeconomy, innovation in energy and resource efficiency, refurbishment, training and upskilling, infrastructure development and scientific research.

The LRESSS is administered by Pobal on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA). More information on the scheme is available on the Pobal website.

Details of projects approved for funding under the scheme can be found here.

Further information on the EU Just Transition Fund and all open calls can be found on EMRA's website.

The Territorial designation was for the Just Transition Region was informed by:

• the Structural Reform Support Programme consultancy undertaken during 2021 to support the development of the Territorial Just Transition Plan
• the reports and recommendations of the Just Transition Commissioner for the Midlands region
• the coverage of the National Just Transition Fund
• People and Place Report 1
• People and Place Report 2

These reports recognised that the end of peat extraction for energy production impacts a number of counties, or parts of counties, across the wider Midlands region. A total of nineteen municipal districts across eight different counties, with direct and functionally connected dependency on the peat extraction industry in the Midlands, have therefore been included in the Plan and Programme.

The EU Just Transition Fund (EUJTF) is one of the three pillars of the European Union Just Transition Mechanism under the European Green Deal.

Investments under the EUJTF (Pillar 1) may be complemented by a combination of grants and loans to private sector entities under a dedicated window of the EU’s InvestEU instrument(Pillar 2) and through a specific Public Sector Loan Facility (PSLF) managed by the European Investment Bank (Pillar 3). The PSLF target beneficiaries are public sector entities including private law bodies with a public service mission.

Proposed investments in larger projects, for example, in relation to transport, renewable energy, energy efficiency, or retrofitting, may be better suited to seeking support from these pillars, particularly if sponsored by larger private sector entities or by public bodies. Projects supported by Pillars 2 and 3 of the Just Transition Mechanism can be located outside the TJTP territories, provided that they benefit the eligible territories by helping to meet the development needs stemming from transition, as specified in the territorial just transition plan. All enquiries about Pillars 2 and 3 should be directed to the InvestEU Advisory Hub.