The Just Transition Fund has 'failed Offaly', state angry Councillors

ANGRY Councillors told a recent meeting that the Just Transition Fund has failed Offaly because it hasn't created the number of jobs needed.
On Monday afternoon's meeting of Offaly County Council an update on the EU Just Transition Fund (JTF) was presented to the councillors by Terry Connolly and Bernie Roe from the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA).
They said the Fund is €169 million and EMRA is the managing authority for it.
Bernie Roe said the JTF's purpose is to address the economic and social impacts of the government's decarbonisation programme on Offaly. “The transition from fossil fuels has created economic and social disparities; long-term unemployment...A big reliance on home heating oil is another problem in Offaly...The funding is to go towards generating employment; rehabilitating bogs; and expanding an electric vehicle bus service, as well as installing electric vehicle chargers.”
Fáilte Ireland, the NPWS and Pobal are some of the major semi-state and public sector bodies associated with the fund. EMRA's role began in 2023 and is now in Phase 3 of the JTF rollout. “We now have a number of real, live projects on the ground and we are monitoring them,” commented Ms Roe. “91 projects have been approved for a total of €91 million in the relevant counties of Laois, Tipperary, Galway, Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath, Kildare and Offaly. Offaly has received the highest allocation of funding.” She admitted that the EU forms are “quite cumbersome and complex.”
Terry Connolly pointed out that Clonmacnoise is going to receive €7.8 million from the Fund, which will be overseen by Fáilte Ireland. €168,000 will go towards Lough Boora and increasing the variety of the stock of bikes. €294,000 is going towards the Kilcormac Renewable Energy Centre of Excellence. €1 million will be directed to the Dalton Centre on the former Shannonbridge Power Station site.
Two members of the NPWS are currently working in an office in Birr, carrying out work for Tóchar which is focussed on Wetlands Restoration in the Midlands.
Cllr Seán O'Brien said he's an Offaly County Council representative on EMRA. “I have a lot of concerns about the Just Transition Fund. Climate Action is great. We are no longer working on peat bogs. The big problem is the JTF is just not creating the number of jobs we wanted. Where are the industrial jobs that we need to see coming from it? We don't see them here. In 2024 there were only five visits by the IDA to Offaly. Last year 44% of the IDA's visits were to places in Dublin. Ireland is greatly troubled by the problem of excessive centralisation. There is lots for Dublin and the other cities but very little for counties like Offaly. Here in Offaly we are not feeling the love. Our whole economic structure has been severely damaged by decarbonisation. What are we getting except a clap on the back? I am not convinced by this whole process. There are no jobs. A lot of people have to leave the county to train in the skills they need. This is a huge issue. Most of Offaly is very rural, with small towns and villages and we Councillors have a duty to create jobs for those people. We don't want people leaving the county. Tell me, where are the jobs going to come from, and when are they going to arrive?”
Cllr Peter Ormond said he's also disappointed with the JTF. He said it's changed a lot since they first envisaged it back in 2019. “It was set up to counteract the major job losses caused by decarbonisation. There is a huge number of people no longer working on the peatlands. They either retired, received redundancies or started commuting for their jobs. The money is not being administered by the Council. It is being administered by the OPW, Bord na Móna, Fáilte Ireland. We need jobs in Offaly and we have seen very few new jobs because of the JTF. From 2020 to 2024 the JTF was on every agenda of every County Council meeting here in Áras an Chontae. There is still a huge reliance on peat and home heating oil in the county. We need education to change this mindset. We need to bring down the cost of Heat Pumps and retrofitting so people can afford to install them in their homes."
Cllr Hughie Egan criticised Bord na Móna's “completely inadequate lack of interaction and consultation with the local communities. They have to do more to bring the local people along with them.”
Cllr Neil Feighery said only 6% of the JTF has been spent on Offaly so far. “The wheels are grinding very slowly. For Offaly the JTF has been very disappointing.”
Cllr Noel Cribben pointed out that he was very disappointed with it. “We are simply not getting the funding we need.”
“You can feel the anger in this room,” remarked Cllr John Leahy, addressing the two EMRA members. “Of all the major issues we address on a regular basis, only this issue is on the agenda every single month. I am Chair of the Kilcormac Development Association. Getting €300,000 from the JTF for the KDA was great but the €75,000 match funding requirement is the killing part for us. It's simply not practical. Community groups will not come forward if they have to find match funding of more than €10,000.”
Cllr Seán Maher said the former briquette factory in Derrinlough has poignant memories for him as he drives by it, its emptiness a symbol of significant job losses caused by the government's decarbonisation programme. “For many months now the factory there has been lying vacant. Near the vacant factory stand dozens of giant wind turbines making money not for the community but for someone else.”
Cllr Eddie Fitzpatrick pointed out that there's “a big void in the county because of the loss of a huge number of jobs due to the government's decarbonisation programme.” He added that there's a significant lack of accommodation for visitors to north-east Offaly, which is another big problem in the region.
“I welcome the €169 million, the new trails, the bog rehabilitation; but what is really badly needed is more jobs, a lot more jobs, so we can get more people working and living here. There is also a problem with Bord na Móna because they are not engaging properly with the local communities.”
Cllr Fergus McDonnell said he feels “very cynical” about Just Transition and its insufficient job creation. “I worked in Bord na Móna for 20 years. In north-east Offaly Bord na Móna had a massive influence in terms of jobs. There were three power stations in the region (Allenwood Kildare, Rhode and Portarlington) and six Workshops. The influence was massive. Decarbonisation pulled the rug from under our feet. When Just Transition was first mooted a few years ago I and others thought it would lead to something very positive and lots of job creation. Sadly that hasn't come about. I want to also say that Bord na Móna have abdicated their responsibility in this matter. Edenderry is now a commuter town for the Greater Dublin Area because of the job losses.
“As well as this, I've been told that Offaly is generating 30% of Ireland's wind energy; we are top of the class but what are we getting back? Precious little.”
Cllr Aoife Masterson commented that it was obvious to many that the EU JTF wasn't going to fill the jobs void. “It's been long obvious to many that EU funding isn't going to tackle this. This is a national issue, which should be dealt with by the government. Instead there's an attempt to fob it all off on the EU and then blame the EU. We also have tourism, accommodation and roads issues. We can't place all of these issues at the foot of the JTF.”
Cllr Claire Murray (Fianna Fáil) said she is also “very disappointed. In Offaly we are doing a lot of heavy lifting but we are not seeing the jobs.”
Cllr Declan Harvey said the training opportunities in Mount Lucas are great “but they are not leading to jobs; after you've finished the course you can't get any work in Offaly.
“Just Transition to me is about creating jobs and it's failing on that score.
“Meanwhile we are being told to move away from peat and retrofit our houses. But there are a lot of old houses in Offaly and the price of retrofitting would be astronomical; it's beyond the budgets of most people. The system being imposed on us is not adequately meeting the reality on the ground.”
The Chief Executive Anna Marie Delaney admitted that Just Transition has been “a challenging and frustrating process” for the Council and applicants.
“The match funding element has been particularly challenging,” she added.