Council to seek meeting with EU Commissioner over Just Transition funding

David Power

Members of Offaly County Council are to bring their case to Europe to ensure Offaly receives its fair share of funding from the Just Transition funding scheme.

The elected members are to seek a meeting with Commissioner Mairead McGuinness to ensure they get their share of funding to help workers who have lost their jobs through Bord na Mona closures.

The Just Transition process provides funding for those in carbon-intensive regions, providing funding and support for areas affected by job losses due to the move away from dependence on fossil fuel.

“The over-riding issue is what’s going to happen when the Just Transition money gets doled out,” Cllr Danny Owens told the November meeting of Offaly County Council on Monday.

“Our main issue is that Offaly gets what it’s entitled to,” he said.

Offaly will need to leverage its position and ensure its share of funding in proportion to the amount of people who lost their jobs through Bord na Mona closures, he said. The amount of people made unemployed in Offaly, is “far greater than other counties who are looking for their slice of the pie,” Cllr Owen said.

“We need to take ownership of projects,” Cllr Owens said, and also ensure they receive funding.

“I propose a delegation seeks a meeting with Commissioner Mairead McGuinness and make a strong case for Offaly,” Cllr Owens said. He added that Cllr Eamon Dooley should be a member of this delegation as he has been to the forefront on the issue of Just Transition funding.

The proposal was agreed with by Cllr John Leahy as “the big money is in Europe”. He thanked Deputy Barry Cowen, who was an observer at the meeting, and Minister Hackett for their efforts in securing funding for the county.

They would be “banging their heads off a brick wall” unless they have a “strategic plan”, he said.

“We are a special case,” Cllr Leahy said, due to the unemployment numbers in Offaly because of the high amount of Bord na Mona jobs here.

“We have to be clever,” Cllr Leahy added. He said as the issue is a political one, he was happy to allow Cllr John Clendennen to be part of the delegation in his place, as it was important to have a Fine Gael councillor in the political process.

While there is a €20 million fund, Cllr Leahy felt “the wool has been pulled over our eyes” on how this will be spent. He said they need more information on the criteria for the Just Transition funding.

“We know what we want - we want job creation and support for the former Bord na Mona workers,” Cllr Leahy said.

“Everybody in Offaly has to put their shoulder to the wheel,” he said. Stressing the need for funding for Offaly, he said a recent study found the county has the second lowest disposable income in the country.

“Jobs are the bottom line,” Cllr Sean O’Brien said. They need to be focused on investment which will benefit the workers who have lost their jobs, he added.

The proposal to meet Commissioner McGuinness was formally proposed by Cllr Tony McCormack.

Council Chief Executive Anna Marie Delaney said they will progress the requested meeting. She said the Just Transition process is an ongoing one, and the EU Commission will appoint consultants to develop a territorial plan.

“We will come back to you on that,” Ms Delaney said.