No timeframe on delivery of €84 million bog compo for Laois and other counties

There is still no timeframe on how long it will take for people in Laois and other Midlands counties to benefit from the money to compensate the region for the ending of peat harvesting.

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, has confirmed to Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan, that he is not in a position to say when access to the €84 million in EU Just Transition Funding will become available for drawdown.

The TD said the Minister provided the details to her after she questioned him in the Dáil on the recent public consultation process regarding the draft territorial plan that must be submitted by Ireland before it can access the EU funding.

Deputy Nolan also said she questioned the Minister on the number of submissions that his Department received during the consultation process and when he envisages the final version of the territorial plan will be completed and submitted to the European Commission:

“Minister Ryan clearly stated that he does not have a timeline yet for the delivery of the report to the European Commission. In fact, he could not even provide me with an approximate date,” Deputy Nolan said.

“I recently submitted my own detailed submission to the consultation process where I emphasised the need for a fair distribution of funds based on the areas most impacted by the transition, such as Offaly and Laois.

“However, the Minister has now confirmed to me that there were only 82 responses to the online public consultation survey and 41 submissions from individuals and groups. To my mind this reveals the low levels of confidence that the wider public rightly have about the value of the entire transition agenda.

“I think this becomes especially clear when you consider that the EU funding is to be spread out among areas with a combined population running it the hundreds of thousands.

"Ordinary people are simply not buying what the Government and this Minister in particular are selling when it comes to the transition process capacity to create long term jobs.

“Minister Ryan also conceded that not all those projects which have been funded will survive or succeed," she said.

“I was also surprised to hear Minister Ryan say that Offaly County Council officials have agreed with him that the process is a success and is working just fine. From my engagement with the Council it is abundantly clear that significant concerns remain around the authorities inability to provide matching funding to projects.”

Laois council commissioning major green energy blueprint for Midlands

“The Minister is putting a shine on this process that bears no relation to reality,” concluded Deputy Nolan.

Demand for a right to home working for people living in Laois must be backed by Government