Millions in Bord na Móna Just Transition money 'gobbled up' in Laois and Midlands

Six years after Bord na Móna was forced to end peat harvesting, the EU Just Transition €169 million support fund has been spent.

Laois and other Midlands counties that were hit with the loss of peat harvesting jobs, got the money to help create new jobs, restore bogs and supply cleaner transport.

However some Laois councillors say the grant application form was too difficult, and households with poor insulation using turf for heating, saw none of the money.

The Just Transition programme manager for Midlands Region Enterprise Plan, Sarah Morgan explained why it came about, speaking at a recent Laois County Council meeting.

Bord na Móna was going to slowly wind up bog harvesting by 2027 but instead stopped earlier in 2019. 

“The decarbonisation by Bord na Móna put this region in a state of shock. It was thrust upon us,” Ms Morgan said.

She said that the region lobbied hard and got funding for projects like the LOETB’s construction demonstration site in Mount Lucas, Offaly.

Programme manager Sarah Morgan pictured in Laois County Council chambers. Photo: Lynda Kiernan

€169 million was allocated by the EU to the Just Transition programme, to retrain workers and support affected economies.

The spending priority was jobs, followed by peatland rehabilitation and reuse, and sustainable transport.

They had €87m of it to create tourism jobs in the Midlands and east Kildare.

In Laois that has gone to the likes of the Rock of Dunamase carpark under construction,  and accommodation businesses including Glamping Under the Stars, The Forum Mountmellick, Emo glamping pods, Brielle House Mountmellick, the Sportsman’s Inn, Ballykilcavan Visitor Experience and commercial kitchens.

Grants also went towards Laois County Council’s J17 business park in Portlaoise, Canal Road business park, Portarlington, and the community run Poet’s Cottage Café in Camross. 

Just Transition has also paid for training courses in solar panel installation in Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Longford, and how to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. It funds wages of staff who worked in The Cube low carbon business centre, Portlaoise.

It also funded the MidlandsIreland.ie website, led by Laois County Council, to promote the four counties as places to live, work, study and invest.

The cash paid for four STEM engagement officers, to visit primary and secondary schools in the four counties, holding VEX Robotics competitions and neurodiverse programmes.

Two staff were employed with the funding for promotion and ‘placemaking’ for healthier towns and villages.

The fund also paid for an ICT manager at The Cube to help businesses to fill out funding applications.

It also covered the production of a food and drink strategy for Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath called The Midlands Flavours brand, and the employment of a network manager, in the Cube, Bernie Everard, with over 100 businesses on their database. 

“It’s all to raise the profile of the region to live and work, supporting businesses to grow, be sustainable and find new markets,” Ms Morgan said.

€57m went on peatlands and the remainder on transport.

The fund is now closed.

The Laois County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Barry Walsh says “more funding is needed to keep us going”.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said she is disappointed that some of the €87m was not spent to deep retrofit homes that relied on turf for heating.

“Tourism is fantastic but the whole Just Transition was to help people transition from brown to green. I am particularly disappointed not to see this touched on. It’s a vital support for homes in our county, to transition from solid fuel. 

“A whole cohort is left behind who need external insulation and will never be able to afford to retrofit. There are SEAI grants but not everyone has €80,000 to retrofit their home,” she said.

Cllr John King wants any more funding to come through Laois County Council instead of The Cube.

“It would be easier for us to apply,” he said.

“The funding has been gobbled up. It’s great what it has done, five glamping grants were good to get, and six jobs is unbelievable,” Cllr James Kelly said.

Cllr Paddy Buggy said the application form to apply was “quite difficult”. He is manager of the MDA Mountmellick, which won a grant for their museum.

“You need consultants to help fill it out. Grants should be made more accessible, there were roadblocks in the way. Local projects or small businesses nearly need advisors to fill them in. I welcome the money to the region,” he said.

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The Laois County Council CEO Michael Rainey thanked the programme manager Sarah Morgan, announcing that it was her last day in the job.

“Your dedication as programme manager was astounding. It will be a huge loss to us in the county and region. You have brought the region to the forefront, now cited as a model of best practice for other regions to follow,” the CEO said.