Concerns Offaly becoming 'the windfarm capital of Ireland' while neighbouring counties get 'massive jobs announcements'

A councillor this week pointed out that it is clear to him that Offaly is gradually being transformed into 'the windfarm capital of Ireland'.

Cllr Noel Cribbin said he was very frustrated to hear of major new companies coming to neighbouring counties but no similar announcements for Offaly.

“Diageo are going to open a new 200 million Euro plant in Newbridge,” commented Cllr Cribbin. “Newbridge is only 18 miles from Edenderry. Therefore, it's massively frustrating and annoying to see such a major project as this happening just down the road, whereas Offaly is only getting peanuts in comparison.

“The optics are obvious to me. The truth of the matter is obvious to me. Offaly is the hole in the doughnut. We're getting nothing while the surrounding counties are getting massive announcements. The likes of Newbridge has masses of employment already. It doesn't need anymore employment. Edenderry, on the other hand, does.

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“When you look around Offaly you see a lot of windfarms going up or getting the go-ahead to go up but not much else is happening. It looks like central government has decided we are going to be the hole in the doughnut but we are also going to be the windfarm capital of Ireland. That is all we are getting. Within a ten mile radius of Edenderry we are going to have six windfarms, and not one extra job. It is very, very disappointing.”

Cllr Danny Owens agreed with Cllr Cribbin, pointing out that the crux of the matter was the lack of jobs being created. Cllr Eamon Dooley said he'd heard a figure that 80% of Bord na Mona workers had been made redundant in order to satisfy the decarbonisation programme. He said the enormous loss of jobs in Offaly has nowhere near been counterbalanced.

Cllr John Clendennen agreed with Cllr Cribbin. “In the last few months there have been a number of massive announcements, but all in the counties surrounding Offaly, none in Offaly. For example, Mullingar is going to get Ireland's largest film studio. It is obvious that Offaly is being ignored. It is very hurtful that we are being ignored by central government and the governmental agencies.”

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Cllr Clendennen pointed out that 20% of Offaly's land is owned by the State, “and yet there is no plan to do something major with any of that, apart from bog rewetting.” He called for a meeting with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. “It is time that the IDA and Enterprise Ireland explained to us why major investment is not coming to Offaly. Why are we being overlooked?”

Cllr Declan Harvey said Just Transition looks great on paper but it's still not delivering for the county. “The proposed retrofitting programme also looks great, but very few houses have been retrofitted so far in the county. The reason being that it is just too expensive for the ordinary Joe Soap. The ordinary, hardworking person can't stretch to it in his budget. It needs to be more realistic, so it gives people a chance to get involved. The disconnect in planners' minds between aspiration and reality is very frustrating.”

Cllr Dooley said he would love to know the exact figures of jobs created since the Just Transition programme began in 2018. “I don't see any new jobs around my area in Ferbane. It's obvious that there's a lot of spin going on. I know a lot of people in my locality who are out of work because of the government's decarbonisation programme.”

A member of the Council executive told the meeting the important Territorial Plan (which is part of the Just Transition Programme) has been finalised by the relevant governmental department and is now on the Cabinet's agenda. Once approved by the Cabinet, he said, it will be sent to the European Commission. The idea behind the Territorial Plan is that no region is left behind or unduly suffers because of the fight against Climate Change and the decarbonisation policy.

Cllr Neil Feighery pointed out that, since 2019, the County Councillors have been getting an update about the Just Transition programme at every monthly County Council meeting.

Cllr Feighery said they shouldn't overlook the positive stuff happening. “I was out at Mountlucas today, at the announcement of the new construction apprenticeship programme. It was a great morning. It was a massive, very important announcement. It's a direct result of the Just Transition programme. It's a very impressive set-up out at Mountlucas. I was at the recent Jobs Fair in Tullamore Court Hotel which was a massive success. 500 jobs were available at the fair. Therefore it's simply incorrect to say nothing is happening except for the creation of wind farms. We also shouldn't forget our many wonderful indigenous businesses.”

Cllr Ken Smollen said the reality is that most people in Offaly are “running a mile from retrofitting” because it's too costly. He said people would love to have their homes retrofitted but they can't afford it. “That's why so many are still talking about solid fuel, about cutting turf. A lot of them would rather not be cutting turf, because it's such hard work, but they have no choice.”

“We councillors are doing all we can do for the county," commented Cllr Dooley, "but we are not getting the support we need from central government and their agencies. When you look behind the spin the decline in rural areas is noticeable. In Ferbane, for example, there used to be nine pubs. Now there's only three. We also lost James Hamilton's Ford dealership business. I could go on.”

Cllr Mark Hackett said retrofitting was more cost effective and positive than the councillors were letting on. “Retrofitting is a very viable and important option,” he remarked. “It's not as expensive as some councillors are saying. There are substantial grants in place to assist people. And once you have retrofitted your house you will start recouping your costs.”