EU Just Transition Fund: Local Economic and Community Plans

This call provides targeted support to projects that will boost communities and the economic fabric of the wider midlands. The aim of the call is to help implement bottom-up local economic strategies to promote the generation of employment by investing in the modernisation and diversification of the local economy.

Read the Press Release here.

Geographical area covered:

Projects operating in the following areas are eligible to apply under this fund: Laois, Offaly, Longford and the Municipal Districts of Ballinasloe (Co Galway), Athy and Clane-Maynooth, (Co Kildare). All projects must be delivered in or provide benefit to the eligible territory.

Deadline for applications is 30th September 2024.

Policy objective:

This call falls under the EU JTF programme Priority 1: Generating Employment for former peat communities by investing in the diversification of the local economy. The specific operation concerned is Action 1.2: Support the implementation of local and regional economic strategies.
Co-funded by the Government of Ireland and European Union, the EU Just Transition Fund has a single specific objective, which is to enable regions and people to address the social employment, economic and environmental impacts of the transition towards the Union’s 2030 targets for energy and climate and a climate-neutral economy of the Union by 2050, based on the Paris Agreement.

Eligible applicants:

Organisations who are eligible for funding under this scheme include: Local Authorities (LAs) within the eligible area, Local Development Companies (LDCs), Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs), Education and Training Boards (ETBs), Educational Institutions, Other Public Bodies, Community and Voluntary organisations, Social Enterprises, Charities, and Not-for-profit organisations.
Applicants need to demonstrate alignment with ‘Local Economic and Community Plans’ of their respective county.

Total amount of support:

There is €3.7 million total funding available under this call.
Funding of up to €1,000,000 is available per project.

Call start and end dates:

Launch: 19th August 2024
Closing date: 30th September 2024

Application Process:

All applicants need to fill in the application form which is available from the call information page of Pobal’s website and submit to Pobal through email at jtf@pobal.ie.

All organisations interested in applying should submit an expression of interest to Pobal by 10 September 2024 via email on jtf@pobal.ie. Pobal will issue a Unique Reference Number (URN) to the interested organisations by 20 September 2024. The URN should be used to answer the relevant question in the application form and also in naming all the files/documents when submitting the application to Pobal and in future communications. Please ensure that the correct URN is used when submitting the applications.

Further information

Several support events are scheduled to assist applicants in developing their applications – please check the Pobal website for details.