We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE DEPARTMENT OF Environment is to examine the potential of using the Midlands as a major hub for renewable energy following recommendations made in a report.
Just Transition Commissioner, Kieran Mulvey said that he adopted a “whole of Midlands strategic approach” in a bid to maximise their infrastructural, natural and human resources.
In his first progress report, Mulvey set out a number of proposals including the establishment of a new climate change centre.
Mulvey was appointed as the first Just Transition Commissioner in November 2019 as part of the government’s climate action plan to help create jobs for workers who have been impacted by climate change.
The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton said he will launch the first call for proposals for funding from the €11 million Just Transition Fund.
The fund is to retrain workers and help local businesses in the Midlands as changes are introduced to move to low carbon.
There are five key priorities, including retraining workers and proposals to generate sustainable employment in the region.
ESB confirmed last November that it is closing two power plants earlier than planned.
Among the proposals is examining the potential for using existing infrastructure in the West Offaly and Lough Ree power plants as an Energy Hub in the Midlands.
There are also plans to grow the existing Midlands network of co-working facilities, through development of additional facilities and hubs through the region.
Mulvey said: “There has been a very positive engagement from all the stakeholders in the region and it is vital now that the process can move rapidly to an implementation plan.
“I have adopted a whole of Midlands strategic approach with what I believe are practical actions across counties to maximise their infrastructural, natural and human resources and building on their existing strengths.
“The first part of such a plan is to receive and evaluate employment projects in the Midlands that have green enterprise and other employment/tourism potential.
“This period has to be used also to finalise the critical pathways for the retention of employment in BNM (Bord na Móna)/ESB, give certainty around the future structure of the workforce and to establish further employment opportunities in the region.”
Bruton said: “I am acutely aware of the impact an early exit from peat is having on workers and their families and on the Midlands more broadly.
“Like many other businesses, Bord na Móna has also been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic which is compounding this impact.
“Securing sustainable employment opportunities for the region and a just transition for those most severely affected must be at the heart of our response.
“A detailed implementation plan will be prepared in response to the report’s recommendations, however I believe we must take urgent action in some key areas.
“The Just Transition Fund is opening so we can get money to those who can make a big difference.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Ahh, good ol’ EU democracy – “but of course you’re entitled to have a vote on your country’s direction but remember, if you don’t vote the way we want you to the consequences will be dire”.
Remind me again why we still think we’re all “partners” in this project?
I’m hoarding wikipedia pages in 12 dozen open tabs to get through this blackout.
Ah thats craic about the burglers and the others.. its called making the best of bad times!!!!
the burglars were prob hungry too
so… ‘any new bailouts will be conditional on membership of the new treaty’ ….. bye bye any referendum … the writings on the wall .. WE HAVE NO SAY… bout time we all started learning german if we dont already know it!!
We should take it on the chin and tell the Bilderberg puppets we like our independence and try to learn from our mistakes re bankers, property bubbles and useless useless politicians. As long as people keep electing t Michael lowrey s we ve learned nothing.
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say