Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 October 2023
425. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the financial amount spent on climate, environment and associated programmes from the EU Just Transition Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46209/23]
View answerIreland’s first Territorial Just Transition Plan will provide for investments of up to €169 million, which will be targeted at the economic transition of the Midlands region for the period to 2027. Within the Plan, DAFM has been awarded funding of €35m for two projects:
Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiatives (€20m)
The ‘EU Just Transition Fund Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative’ is the first national competitive Call for proposals for Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiatives. It involves piloting and demonstration focused projects concentrating on developing new agrifood and biobased industries that will focus on unlocking the full potential of biomass, through its cascading use and optimised valorisation.
The Call opened for submissions on 16 August 2023 and closed on 13 October 2023. Proposals are currently undergoing evaluation, managed by DAFM, and the announcement of successful proposals and the commencement of projects can be expected in Q1 of 2024. The total funding amount for this Call is €10m for the Just Transition Fund 2021-2027. This will provide funding for two projects which may have a value of up to €5m each. It is anticipated that a further €10m call for proposals will be issued in 2024.
Midlands Carbon Catchment Study (€15m)
The Midlands Carbon Catchment Study will seek to research innovative ways of reducing emissions from organic soils by working with farmers at a catchment level to test new and novel ways of alternative, sustainable land management, and to explore new economic models such as carbon farming. A call is currently being worked on and will be open to submissions soon.
The main objectives of the study:
• Seek to explore alternative more sustainable land management activities on drained organic soils used for agriculture.
• Pilot the concept of a carbon farming/trading model through testing different payment models, developing suitable carbon codes and establishing a trusted Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) process.
• Provide several demonstration farms/living labs with various alternative land management options to guide the transition to a more sustainable farming model across the Territory.
No funding has been spent on either project yet.
