Almost €6m in funding has been allocated to community-led projects in the midlands under the EU Just Transition Fund programme.
In April 2023, €169m was announced for the midlands to support the region as it transitions away from peat production and peat-fired power generation.
Today's allocation announcement is part of that funding and will see ten community-led projects across the region benefit.
Among them is the Dalton Centre in Shannonbridge in Co Offaly, a vacant industrial building adjacent to the former west Offaly Power Station site which previously housed ESB archive material.
€1 million in funding has been allocated to upgrade the building so that it can be used for training or job creation in construction and renewable energy sectors.
Funding of almost €1m has also been allocated to a project in Portarlington in Co Laois, which will see capital works undertaken on the former Avon site, to upgrade it to a business park in a bid to attract enterprises.
Another project which has been allocated funding is the establishment of an enterprise and energy centre in Longford town.
Almost €800,000 has been allocated for the project at the former post office building on Main Street.
It will be refurbished and used as the county tourism office, while also providing co-working spaces.
In Kildare, funding of over €700,000 has been allocated to establish a bespoke training programme focused on low-carbon, circular economy practices.
The programme is aimed at those with low education and limited employment opportunities in the Athy, Clane and Maynooth areas.
While in Co Offaly, funding of more than €200,000 has been allocated for a new tourist office in Kilcormac to serve as an ecotourism hub with EV charging points and bicycle repair services.
"These projects play a crucial role in driving locally led regional development and building a stronger, more sustainable future for the communities in the midlands," said Director of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly Clare Bannon.
The projects were awarded through a third call for proposals in the Local and Regional Economic Strategies Support Scheme.
LRESS is co-funded by the Government and the European Union through the EU Just Transition Fund programme.
Last week, 17 projects were included in the funding allocation from the EU Just Transition Fund programme, within Fáilte Ireland's Investment Grant-Aid Scheme.
Communities concerned over red tape, regulation and resources
For many communities, there are still some concerns around red tape, regulation and resources needed to make a successful application for funding.
Linda Kelly, project manager at the Kilcormac Development Association, knows more than most about the process.
In the early 1950s, Bord na Móna began harvesting peat in the area and hundreds of people were employed.
Not far away, hundreds more were employed at Derrinlough briquette factory. All that activity has now come to an end and the community is trying to map out a new future.
"Kilcormac is unique in the sense that there's a very strong development association that's been here since the 1980s," she explained.
"Because of that, the plans and the visibility studies were done a good few years ago, which gave us a framework then to work from.
"Where I see the challenges for other communities, they don't have that framework to work from, and they also don't have the capacity," Ms Kelly added.
Four full-time people work in Kilcormac Development Association.
It is because of the staff the association has the capacity to give the time over to developing applications and making the project plans that need to be put together, Ms Kelly said, and acknowledged that other communities simply do not have those resources.
"For other communities, I can see that they don't have that capacity and they don't have the support and that's where the downfall is," she said.
Ms Kelly and her team have welcomed this week's funding allocation which will see them enhance their tourism offering.
"With the demise of Bord na Móna it has really left gaps within communities, not just from an economic point of view, but from the social point of view," she said.
"What we're trying to do here is put that hope back into Kilcormac so that we have a sustainable future," she said.
John Leahy, an independent councillor in Kilcormac, believes the future is bright for the area.
"I have to say, I've never seen as much money being pumped into communities as I've seen over the last been five to eight years, and we're availing of that," he said.
"But I suppose it's because of the work that was done in the 80s and 90s by other people and we wouldn't be in the position we're in at the moment without them.
"I feel sorry for community groups that are out there, because they don't have the same full-time staff that we have.
"I can't see anybody on a voluntary level doing what we've done over the last number of years without having the staff, so that's why we're a step ahead in Kilcormac," he added.
Retired Bord na Móna worker Seamus Barron spent 44 years working for the company.
"There was full employment here. We had eight pubs in Kilcormac at one time and they were all full on a Thursday night, which was pay day," he laughed.
"We all knew the end would come but we thought there was another ten years in it, it all ended so quickly.
"We'll never have the big employer here again but tourism is what we're focused on," he added.
He believes the story of Bord na Móna and the employment it brought to towns and villages across the midlands needs to be told.
He said it is a project he believes would bring tourists to the area, linking it up with Lough Boora discovery park.
Over the last two years, in his role on the development association, he has seen applications being made for funding, pointing out that it is a difficult process.
"It's a tough job, you need experts to get you through the process," he said.
However, he remains upbeat and hopeful for a brighter future.
"Bord na Móna gave us a good living, you can't forget that. We just to make sure this is a place where our kids can stay and can rear their families"
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Minister gives assurances that improvements are being made to application process
Minister for Transport, Climate, Environment and Energy Darragh O'Brien said he understands frustrations around the application process and efforts are being made to improve it.
"I understand that, and I've listened to them, and I think we've got Pobal to engage much more directly," said Minister O'Brien.
"We've had one-to-one engagement with people who are looking to apply. We've had online webinars as well, and person to person meetings.
"We've had an open day and we want to do more than that because I want people to be able to access this fund.
"This is about creating new green jobs and it's very important that people know about the funds and know that it's there to assist them in start-up enterprises and creating new jobs.
"But also, when they know it's there, that they can easily apply for it and I've listened to that constructive criticism that has come back, and we need to improve on that and I think that is being done right now," he said.
The minister added: "People can be assured that we'll continue to support this fund and make improvements to the scheme as we need to.
"I really want more people to be applying to this, because it's creating sustainable green jobs in the areas that it's needed most."
European delegation examine funding
This week a group of European Parliament members who sit on the Committee on Regional Development (REGI) is visiting the region, as part of a fact-finding trip exploring the uses of EU funding.
The delegation is being led by REGI committee vice-chair, Slovakia's Ľubica Karvašová.
It also includes Spain's Raul De La Hoz Quintano, Portugal's Paulo Do Nascimento Cabral, and Irish MEPs Ciaran Mullooly, Maria Walsh, and Barry Cowen.
Midlands North West MEP Ciaran Mullooly has been tasked by the European Parliament with reviewing the Just Transition Fund across the EU.
Last year he was named by REGI as rapporteur for the report on 'The role of cohesion policy in supporting the Just Transition'.
