A fund of up to €169 million for tourism initiatives, small business start-ups and town and village regeneration in the midlands will open for applications from this September.
The EU Just Transition Fund is to be financed in equal parts by the European Union and the Government. It is separate to a fund of about €22 million also called the Just Transition Fund, already put in place by the Government.
The funds are aimed at retraining former Bord na Móna staff and supporting communities in the midlands which have been hit economically by the closure of briquette factories and commercial peat harvesting.
Counties covered by the funding include Offaly, Laois, Westmeath, Roscommon, and parts of Galway, Kildare and Tipperary.
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Almost €70 million of the funding is earmarked for investment in tourism ventures including projects to develop a network of trails connecting existing Greenways as well as for other tourism experiences.
Some €30 million is to be spent on connecting the existing Greenway network with walking, cycling and water-based trails.
Former stretches of narrow gauge rail track used by the peat industry are to be repurposed as a cycleway.
There are plans for thematic experiences and art installations with signage “to create a sense of connectivity across the towns and villages, bogs and waterways” of the region.
A further €25 million is to be used to develop new and existing tourism businesses and to support small to medium enterprises in providing water sports, bike hire, day boating, water taxi services and eco-tourism experiences.
About €3 million will be used to support investment in low-carbon accommodation and €10 million is to support the delivery of smart technologies and digital solutions for the tourism sector.
Examples of projects supported by the national Just Transition Fund include:
- Ferbane Food Campus – developing a centre of excellence for food research, development and production. Total Project cost €770,000. The national fund contributed €595,000.
- Baylin Bog Trail – development of a recreational trail, The total cost of project was €120,747. The national fund contributed €99,450.
- Lough Ree Access for All – a social enterprise project on Lough Ree, providing an adapted integrated water-based tourism experience for people with disabilities. The project was awarded grant funding of €471,693 to fund the purchase of a wheelchair accessible boat, which can carry up to 12 people including 7 wheelchair users and also supported development of a new outdoor recreation reception centre by retrofitting and refurbishing a derelict premises. Ten full-time and part-time jobs have also been created.
On Friday the latest round of funding, the €169 million Irish/EU programme was launched in Co Longford at the Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre in Kenagh.
In attendance was Sofia Alves, director at the European Commission’s directorate general for Regional and Urban Policy; Minister for the Environment and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan and a number of Ministers of State.
Speaking after the ceremony Seamus Boland of Irish Rural Link said the promises were impressive. But he warned, while there was much talk of environmental improvements with the switch to more climate-friendly activities “we would like to see more emphasis on the link with real jobs”.
Mr Boland said people in the midlands wanted to see a slogan “a just transition to a better environment means more jobs” used in connection with the funding, “as it would focus minds on the necessities”.
Siptu organiser Davey Lane who represents many of the turf workers said not all of those who were seeking retraining, funded under the Government’s own scheme, had been able to realise the courses they wanted. He said he had not been invited to Friday’s launch.
