MEP Ciaran Mullooly’s 29 point plant to change the face of the EU Just Transition Fund in the midland

Restoring jobs and communities after the closure of Bord na Móna and ESB power stations 

Targeting areas of job losses

1. Ciaran Calls on the Commission to facilitate the establishment of special JTF economic zones for areas affected by closures, with priority access to funding based initially on locations within a radius of 50 km of job loss sites and the surrounding areas, where justification of impact should be taken as ability to access the JTF;
2. Urges the introduction of special regulations in these zones, including lower tax rates for businesses and investments, along with swifter planning decisions; reaffirms that such measures can create employment and provide opportunities for people living in regions which will enhance employment;
3. Stresses that special economic zones have been shown to boost investment and growth in regions, e.g. the special economic zones established in Shannon Airport in County Clare, Ireland in 1959 and in Katowice, Silesia region Poland in 1996;

Education, training of workers and apprenticeships

4. Reiterates that many of the JTF regions have a proud history of training and apprenticeships and its continuation should be prioritised;
5. Stresses in this regard the need to prioritise investment in all levels of education and training within affected areas; emphasises the need for funding for tuition;
6. Calls for at least 50% of education funds in affected regions to go to apprenticeships, recognising investments already made in apprenticeships;
7. Calls for ESF+ funding to be more regionally focused and to have better synergy with the JTF, particularly in relation to education and training;
8. Calls on the Commission to work with Member States to ensure that workers who lost their jobs are given a special status for participation in the ESF+ supported employment and training schemes in their locality;
9. Emphasises the need to develop apprenticeship schemes for the affected areas, in collaboration with local businesses to provide students with experience in their communities giving them the ‘right to stay’;
10. Emphasises the need to support the diversification of regional economies in order to promote better economic resilience;

Replacement employment

11. Suggests the just transition has overlooked the unique conditions of affected workers, part-time workers and students; suggest that there has been little or no consideration of providing replacement seasonal employment;
12. Emphasises the need to fund third-level education and training boards for retraining workers and their families, particularly those over 50 who lost their jobs; proposes that the JTF emphasises workers’ partners and spouses for retraining;
13. Stresses that member states must prioritise access to state owned lands for new JTF employment projects, that there should be oversight of this process;
14. Recalls that some EU regions are experiencing a continuous outflow of young and skilled workers due to demographic shifts and migration, with rural areas being particularly impacted;
Implementation and governance
15. Accepts that the implementation of the JTF process is a matter for the Member States but underlines the need for simplification, and a more urgent approach to notification to member states from the commission
16. Believes that the Commission should have set out clear parameters for each Member State to pursue in areas such as investing in education and training and enabling third-party investors to preserve the culture and traditions of former coal and peat regions;
17. Recognises that there is a shortfall of funding for bottom up projects of scale, and encourages the JTF fill these gaps when a need is identified;
18. Recognises the lack of matching funding for the voluntary sector applying for the JTF; suggests advancing up to 90% of funding for groups who are deemed to be of low risk, thereby ensuring that these groups avoid high interest rates for matching funds;
19. Highlights the negative impact of state aid rules on voluntary and not for profit groups, urges that the voluntary groups that are deemed to be of low risk, are given more flexibility to reach employment goals;
20. Calls on the Commission to work with Member States so there can be greater consistency and clarity on the interpretation of EU state aid laws in so far as they apply to community and not for profit groups;
21. Calls on the Commission to facilitate the setting up of a green community scheme enabling local involvement in green energy projects and allowing former workers and their families to invest or participate; notes the success of similar initiatives.
22. Calls on the Commission to facilitate the setting up of a social training scheme for older unemployed workers, and are unable to retrain and acquire new jobs; highlights that this could bridge the gap until pension age;
23. Calls for the JTF to reduce administrative burden on communities, employing ‘hands-on’ managers in towns and villages, to assist in preparing funding applications and proposals;
24. Calls for the JTF to celebrate the heritage of affected communities and establish training for heritage guides; supports creating visitor centres highlighting local history;

Justice before transition for the whole economy

25. Believes that shifts in the geopolitical landscape, along with multiple other factors, are causing massive changes to the function of the EU economy and urges the commission to review timescales for closures;
26. Recognises that we must have a broader JTF to ensure we have social justice and a fair transition for all;
27. Calls on the European Commission in the post-2027 programming period to continue to underline the importance of the EUJTF and ensure its impact continues to be felt;
28. Calls on the Commission to propose a new fund, JTF II, for the post-2027 programming period, ensuring it operates under shared management and partnership principles; stresses that this fund should have greater financial resources than the current JTF;
29. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the national and regional parliaments of the Member States.