Banks ‘awash with money’ criticised for failing to provide Just Transition project funding

Banks “awash with money” have been criticised by the Just Transition Commissioner, Kieran Mulvey, for failing to provide supporting finance for just transition projects in the midlands region.

Mr Mulvey was appointed as Just Transition Commissioner in November 2019 to focus on a just transition for workers and communities particularly affected by climate mitigation policies due to the closure of local peat-fired power stations and the end of peat harvesting by Bord na Móna.

The Just Transition concept is as a key in how states shape their response to climate change and the transition to a low carbon economy as part of the 2015 Paris climate agreement which was adopted by 195 countries including Ireland.

Mr Mulvey was speaking on Friday in Ballyleague, Co Roscommon at the official launch by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of the first accessibility centre for water sports on the island of Ireland. The Lough Ree Access for All centre, funded by the Government’s Just Transition Fund, will operate at the base of the award-winning Lough Ree Access For All boat in Ballyleague.

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The centre located beside the River Shannon will offer people with physical and intellectual disabilities from all over the country the opportunity to enjoy sports such as angling, power boating and sailing. New facilities installed in the building include a state-of-the-art changing places suite.

Addressing the launch against the backdrop of the former Lough Ree peat-fired power station which closed in December 2020, Mr Mulvey directed criticism at some financial institutions who he believed were not adequately supporting just transition projects on the ground. He said he was aware of community projects in the region facing difficulty in securing financing to match just transition funding provided by the Government.

“The banks are awash with money. There is €148 billion in personal savings in our banks at the moment. They need to lend it out to the people of Ireland who are enterprise orientated. They need to take the risk. We deserve that risk for what we have done for them,” Mr Mulvey said.

“In some of the projects that are assisting, small-medium [enterprises] and new start-ups, we are not getting the response from our financial institutions that I believe is required. They were bailed out by the people of this country and I think they should be more responsive and more receptive to small and medium size enterprise and particularly in regard to start-ups,” he said.

Speaking about some enterprises he was aware of that had sought finance from financial institutions, he said: “Well they might as well have being going to the moon with the response they got. What really does annoy me is that then you see the advertisements [from financial institutions] ... ‘We are supporting green enterprises’. I think it is PR.”

Officially opening the national accessibility centre in Ballyleague, Mr Varadkar said people with disabilities had already significantly benefited from this great initiative with more than three thousand people visiting last year alone.

The centre employs nine people including Mark McClean, a young Longford man who was paralysed after a very serious road accident in 2014 when he was 24 years of age.

Mr McClean, speaking at the launch, said: “People with disability have historically been discriminated against in boat transport services. In the past I applied for different jobs but me being in a wheelchair was an obstacle. I got to a point where I was just going to give up, but when I saw this job opening I jumped at the opportunity and thankfully I was successful. It is my dream job.”

The creation of new jobs for people with disability at the centre was assisted by parcel delivery company, DPD Ireland.

The centre is the only provider of a licensed passenger boat service for people with disability in Ireland or the UK. The boat is designed to allow full access for wheelchair users and others on to the River Shannon through the use of a collapsing bow. Previously, wheelchair users could not access a licensed boat service without being hoisted or lifted by a third party.

The social enterprise project partners with Waterways Ireland, Inland Fisheries Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Roscommon and Longford County Councils, and the Just Transition Fund to improve access for people with disability to the rivers and lakes.