Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 February 2024
153. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to provide a breakdown of all EU funding made available to his Department which has not yet been allocated; and the purpose for which this funding has been made available by the EU. [9804/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland's EU Just Transition Fund Programme, formally launched in April 2023, will provide €169 million (including €84.5 million of EU funding) until 2027 to support the economic transition of the Midlands Territory. This includes Laois, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon, and Westmeath and certain municipal districts in Galway, Kildare, and Tipperary.
The programme is designed to address the longer-term economic transition of the region arising from the end of commercial peat extraction and peat-fired power generation. Funding under this programme will be allocated through the votes of my Department as well as the Departments of Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Housing Local Government and Heritage, Transport and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Approximately €71 million of funding has already been made available under the Programme for projects that support the bioeconomy, electric vehicle charging, regenerative tourism, and the implementation of local and regional economic strategies. Call documentation is currently in development for a further €91 million of funding under the Programme, with these schemes expected to launch over the course of 2024.
My Department has also received an EU funding allocation of €2 million under the Digital Europe Programme to progress the National Co-ordination Centre - Ireland (NCC-IE) cyber security project. This aim of this project is to:
• coordinate with industry, academia, research, and other stakeholders to develop awareness of, and promote funding supports and associated networking opportunities;
• distribute EU and national funds to industry and societal stakeholders, notably small and medium sized enterprises (SME), with the aim of strengthening the uptake of state-of-the-art cybersecurity solutions;
• contribute to policy and strategy formulation on cybersecurity funding.
The grant scheme to distribute these funds is currently being developed with grant allocations expected to commence in Q4 2024.
All other EU funding made available to my Department since January 2023, is allocated to specific projects.
