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National Just Transition Fund
From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
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The National Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a key pillar of the Government’s plan for the Midlands region. A fund was made available in 2020 to support communities transitioning to a low carbon economy. The focus is on retraining workers and generating sustainable employment in green enterprise across the region.
The objective of the Fund is to facilitate innovative projects that contribute to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the Wider Midlands region (including East Galway, Kildare, Laois, Longford, North Tipperary, Offaly, Roscommon and Westmeath) and have significant employment and enterprise potential. The Fund supports projects that take a whole-of-Midlands strategic approach and complement other sources of public funding.
The 2020 call for applications for the National Just Transition Fund closed on 17 July 2020
The projects represent innovative and inspiring plans from businesses, local authorities and communities in the Midlands who are committed to creating a green and sustainable economy for the region. This dedication from the community and targeted support will make the region a more attractive and sustainable place to live and work. The Fund will support training and reskilling so that local businesses and communities can adjust to a low carbon transition.
Funded projects are diverse and cover a range of opportunities for the region. They include new enterprise hubs, supporting local business development, research and exploratory studies, tourism and heritage projects, and opportunities for reskilling.
To date, 41 Just Transition Fund projects have entered into contract and are delivering their projects. These include "Strand 1" projects which started project delivery in September 2020 and larger value "Strand 2" projects which started project delivery from June 2021. The total value of projects in delivery mode is approximately €16.2 million, with €13.4 million in grant funding. These project will bring €4.4 million in additional funding to the region and create an estimated 33 direct jobs in the grantee organisations and 394 indirect jobs, as self-reported by projects.
We are working with the remaining Strand 2 projects which received a provisional offer in late 2020 to move them through the verification and due diligence process into project delivery.
| Project Code & Name | Grantee | Main Counties to Benefit | Summary and Presentation | Grant Amount € |
| 80: Promoting the Midlands: Digital Platform & Events | Laois County Council | Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath | Develop a 'destination platform' promoting the Midlands as a destination of choice to live, work and invest through Midlands Ireland.ie | 998,750 |
| 94: Mide: Feasibility Study (Strand 1 project) | Enterprise Ireland | Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath | A feasibility study on creating niche malt products for brewing artisan beer from the midlands region, with Bord na Mona being employed in the process as a result | 59,500 |
| 104: Rhode Green Energy Park Completion Works & Renewable Energy Feasibility Study | Offaly County Council | Offaly | Will carry out infrastructure works to complete Rhode Green Energy Park and complete a Feasibility Study entitled “Exploring Data Centre Integration with Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen in the Midlands” | 738,820 |
| 105: North Kildare Business and Learning Campus: Site Expansion Works | Allenwood Community Development Association CLG | Kildare, Offaly, Laois | This project will carry out site expansion works at an ex Bord na Mona site, Allenwood Green Enterprise Park, to facilitate the establishment of up to 16 new/relocating green manufacturing and service enterprises with potential to create 160 new jobs | 782,782 |
| 106: Additional Enterprise & Office Space in Tullamore | Offaly Innovation & Design Centre CLG | Offaly | Project will increase Tullamore's economic potential by having the necessary landing space, and planning in place for second site development for FDI and enterprises expanding into Offaly | 476,000 |
| Project Code & Name | Grantee | Main Counties to Benefit | Summary and Presentation | Grant Amount € |
| 118: Developing a New Digital Learning Hub in Longford | Longford Westmeath Education & Training Board | Longford, Roscommon, Westmeath | The funding will be used to renovate a building located on the LWETB Longford Campus to develop a purpose built Further Education and Training Digital Learning Hub | 1,000,000 |
| 122: Building Resilience and Adaptability in Primary School Children through STEM | Offaly County Council | Offaly | Extend a current STEM programme to include additional schools in the county. This will allow Offaly County Council to roll out the more advanced VEX Robotics programme to all post primary schools in Offaly | 119,000 |
| 134: Bord na Mona Employee Supports: Training and Upskilling Project | Bord na Mona | All eight counties | A training and up-skilling project to ensure BnM workers can begin to immediately retrain and up-skill to take up training opportunities. This will assist workers to undertake up-skilling courses and prepare for other career paths and opportunities | 590,000 |
| 155: Training Workshop (Strand 1 project) | Ballycommon Telework & Training Centre CLG | Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath | Expansion of the local centre to offer training courses in the areas of horticulture, automation, robotics, home improvements and repairs, solar energy for beginners etc | 59,853 |
| Project Code & Name | Grantee | Main Counties to Benefit | Summary and Presentation | Grant Amount € |
| 45: Provision of a Remote Working Hub and Training Facility - Moore Community Hall (Strand 1 project) | Moore Community Council | Roscommon | Refurbishment of Moore Community Hall to facilitate the provision of a remote working hub and training facility. This includes the creation of two new rooms in the local hall | 55,250 |
| 47: Pulse Hub: Creation of a New Remote Working Hub in Ballinasloe Town | Ballinasloe Area Community Development Ltd | East Galway, Offaly, Roscommon | Project involves the creation of co-working & remote working spaces in Ballinasloe supporting people in East Galway, West Offaly, South Roscommon & Westmeath to work remotely which will be known as Pulse Hubs. This will create a dynamic network to drive enterprise, innovation, start-ups | 490,748 |
| 73: Kinnegad New Economic Enterprise Hub and Hub Management | Westmeath County Council | Offaly, Westmeath | Leasing, refurbishment and kit out of an under-utilised building for co-working facilities and enterprise space at the Eastwae site in Kinnegad. This facilitate the establishment of up to 25 new/relocating enterprises with potential to create 130 new jobs | 841,657 |
| 81: Midlands Network of Co-working Facilities (MNCF) - Business Development Manager | Laois County Council | Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath | Appointment of a Regional Business Development Manager (BDM) to drive the expansion and development of co-working facilities within the region and to explore strategic partnerships for sites in state ownership | 199,988 |
| 100: Athlone Co-Working Hub (CWH) (Strand 1 project) | Athlone Co-Working Hub (CWH) | East Galway, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon, Westmeath | Feasibility study on the eco-aligned refurbishment of a historic building in Athlone to meet sustainable operation standards including upgrade of technology communications systems to transform the building into a co-working hub, to clarify refurbishment costs and inform a full funding application | 77,826 |
| Project Code & Name | Grantee | Main Counties to Benefit | Summary and Presentation | Grant Amount € |
| 25: Producing and Promoting Green Energy Birr and South West Offaly (Strand 1 project) | Birr 20:20 Vision Company Ltd. | East Galway, North Tipperary, Offaly, Roscommon | Feasibility study for anaerobic digestion and a training course and producer discussion group focused on energy crop production and anaerobic digestion. A training course and follow on producer discussion group focused on energy crop production and anaerobic digestion | 81,175 |
| 35.63.118: Rhode Green Energy Park Integration & Design Study | Newleaf Energy Ltd. | Offaly, Westmeath | Project involves the completion of a detailed feasibility study. Study will examine the combination of renewable technologies to their current operation and study the overall carbon abatement ability of these new technologies | 100,000 |
| 36: Alektra - Feasibility Study Stage 2 (Strand 1 project) | Lumcloon Energy Ltd. | Offaly | Feasibility study to identify technologies to build a hydrogen power plant in West Offaly | 85,000 |
| 38: Lanesboro Anerobic Digestion Facility – Feasibility Study (Strand 1 project) | Longford County Council | Longford, Roscommon | Feasibility study into the potential establishment of an Anaerobic Digestion facility on lands on the current site of Lough Ree Power | 85,000 |
| 113: Lough Ree Technology Cluster Study (Strand 1 project) | John Hanley, FDT Consulting Engineers & PM Ltd. | Longford, Roscommon | The study is to investigate how a technology cluster could be established in Lanesborough / Ballyleague, integrated with clean energy sources and a focus on the bioeconomy and integrating enterprises from a circular economy perspective | 101,703 |
| 130: PolySafe (Strand 1 project) | RR Power Projects Ltd. | Kildare, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath | Feasibility study into the transferable knowledge from pulp and paper and waste water | 84,618 |
| 150: Community Led Just Transition North Tipperary: Home Upgrades - Phase 1 | Energy Communities Tipperary Cooperative CLG | North Tipperary | Project will mobilise community-led energy efficiency in communities affected by peat plant closures. Phase 1 is Animation and Assessment and will involve informing the public, technical assessments, and enlisting household | 101,220 |
| 161: Midlands Bioenergy Development Project | Irish Bioenergy Association | All eight counties | Project will deliver a bioenergy knowledge transfer programme on opportunities in biomass production, biogas production, wood fuel and energy crop processing and production and biochar production and usage. Will link producers, processing business, energy users and investors and includes a mentoring programme for 12 start-ups in the midlands | 255,000 |
| Project Code & Name | Grantee | Main Counties to Benefit | Summary and Presentation | Grant Amount € |
| 12: West Offaly: Quality of Life, Place & Experience (Strand 1 project) | Offaly Local Development Company | Offaly | Developing an approach to regional development which starts with understanding the type of environment people locally want to create and work collaboratively with willing partners | 91,162 |
| 14: Development of a Green HQ - Climate Action & Green Enterprise Centre, Offaly | Offaly Local Development Company | Offaly | This project involves the conversion of Fiesta Hall, Kilcormac, into a centralised headquarters for climate action research, green business enterprises and sustainability training programmes for County Offaly | 960,349 |
| 62: Revamp Longford Circular Economy Project | Employment Development & Information Centre Longford (EDI Centre) | Longford, Roscommon, Westmeath | This project will further develop an existing social enterprise, Revamp Longford, strengthening the circular economy. It will involve the recruitment of a Social Enterprise Development Manager to lead on project delivery and support a range of circular economy projects | 161,394 |
| 74: Ballyforan Area Development Feasibility Study (Strand 1 project) | Ballyforan Area Transition Team CLG | East Galway, Roscommon | A local transition plan for the community to understand the viability of a number of project ideas to revitalise the community | 97,750 |
| 126: Connecting Communities with Peatlands: Capacity Building Programme | Irish Rural Link | All eight counties | The project seeks to intensify and broaden the current activities of the Community Wetlands Forum in providing a networking platform for community-led conservation groups through sharing knowledge, ideas, research and best practice | 277,080 |
| 148: Climate Action Midlands Training and Mentoring Programme | Eastern & Midlands Climate Action Regional Office | All eight counties | The establishment of a Climate Action Training and Mentoring Programme centred around building capacity and empowering impacted communities. Will focus on enabling impacted communities within the Midlands Region to enhance their knowledge, understanding and confidence | 255,000 |
| Project Code & Name | Grantee | Main Counties to Benefit | Summary and Presentation | Grant Amount € |
| 40: Mid-Shannon Wilderness Park Greenway: Design Study | Longford County Council | Longford | Funding will be used to do a Preliminary Design and Environmental Assessment of trails within BnM bogs in County Roscommon up to statutory consent stage and full stage consultancy service for conversion of Kilnacarrow Bridge | 102,000 |
| 56.58: Lough Boora Discovery Park Greenways and The Midlands Cycling Destination Strategy | Offaly County Council | Offaly, Westmeath, East Galway | The project will develop enhanced cycling and walking links between the Grand Canal Greenway and Lough Boora Discovery Park and produce a strategy for creating a major cycling destination in the Midlands | 998,155 |
| 66: Tipperary Littleton Labyrinth: Development of a Walking and Cycling Trail | Tipperary County Council | North Tipperary | The project will develop a loop walk at Loch Dhoire Bhile and a loop trail at Derrynaflan to develop a trail linking these two amenities thereby greatly enhancing recreation, amenity, tourism and rural connectivity | 663,719 |
| 67: Baylin Bog Trail (Strand 1 project) | Baylin Development Association | Westmeath | Creating a looped trail linking Baylin Village and the adjoining bog which is part of Carn Park Bog SAC. The proposed trail is 2.61km | 99,450 |
| 71: Development of a Pedestrian and Cycle Link: Killucan to the Royal Canal | Westmeath County Council | Westmeath | This project consists of creating a safe segregated walking and cycling link connecting Killucan/Rathwire to the Royal Canal Greenway that forms part of the Galway - Dublin National Cycle Network | 391,000 |
| 88: Lough Ree Bay Boardwalk Feasibility Study (Strand 1 project) | Roscommon County Council | Roscommon | Feasibility study for a Lough Ree Bay Boardwalk to create access to Lough Ree Bay and shoreline, including environmental assessment and detailed design to underpin the tourism potential | 76,500 |
| 117: Umeras Peatlands Park - Design Study (Strand 1 project) | Umeras Community Development | Kildare, Laois, Offaly | Study to establish feasibility and design/planning work to create a peatlands park on the decommissioned Bord na Mona Umeras Bog located between Monasterevin and Rathangan | 62,730 |
| 139: Extension to Peatland Biodiversity Boardwalk 4th Final Phase (Strand 1 project) | Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Park CLG | Kildare, Offaly | A 300 metre extension to a biodiversity boardwalk in Lullymore Heritage Park which will provide access to the West Plantation Woodland and traverse the Peatland biodiversity area | 83,200 |
State Aid is the name given in the EU to a subsidy provided by government (including state bodies) that distorts competition and affects trade between EU Member States. EU State Aid rules may apply to the award of funding under the Just Transition Fund. State Aid is reviewed on a case-by-case basis from the project applications received. There are two State Aid regulations applicable to the Just Transition Fund: the De Minimis Regulation and the General Block Exemptions Regulations (GBER). The level of support provided to any project will be determined by European Union State Aid rules under the GBER.
Your questions answered: Just Transition Fund - State Aid
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Just Transition Fund - Philip Lee State Aid Presentation
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Just Transition Fund GBER Scheme
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Just Transition Fund Draft Funding Agreement
DownloadFor more information on the Fund, please email JTF@decc.gov.ie
Read more about our progress on implementing a Just Transition
