MEP Ciaran Mullooly presses EU Commissioner for support for Bord na Móna and ESB workers

Eva Osborne

Midlands-North-West MEP Ciaran Mullooly has highlighted the need to address challenges in the implementation of cohesion funding and called for a more targeted approach to the Just Transition Fund to better support families impacted by decarbonisation.

Mullooly raised the issue to Elisa Ferreira, the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, and fellow MEPs at the European Parliament in Strasbourg,

Addressing the Commissioner, Independent Ireland MEP Mullooly highlighted the administrative burden associated with cohesion funding.

"I know the success of cohesion funding, but I also know what the regional authorities say to me about the complexities and the administration and the burden that it places on them," he said.

"So there's a clear need to ensure that administrations and beneficiaries can navigate the systems better. It's imperative we cut through the red tape when we can.

"We know in my own country of Ireland, the implementation rate currently sits at 5.4 per cent. Member States really have to refocus their attention on cohesion funding to ensure they can reduce these regional disparities."

Focusing on the Just Transition Fund, MEP Mullooly acknowledged the progress made but emphasised that it is falling short in directly supporting families who have lost their jobs due to decarbonisation.

He called for a more geographically targeted approach, using defined zones to attract new businesses and create employment opportunities in affected areas, similar to initiatives implemented in coal mining regions in Poland.

"I’m asking if you would be in favour of a more targeted approach. We look at the peat bog land in Ireland. We look at the specific area around that and try and target the families in that area so we can assist them in the future,"