Community Climate Action Fund Phase 2

Frequently Asked Questions

What groups are eligible?

Eligible community organizations must:

Be not for profit
Located within the boundaries of County Monaghan
Be registered with the PPN or connected with other collectives such as The Wheel, Tidy Towns or be a community group with Articles of Association, which hold an AGM with appropriately approved minutes.

Projects eligible for funding?

The types of projects within communities which are eligible for funding under the Programme, should seek to demonstrate the delivery of national climate action at local level by:

a) Reducing or supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
b) Increasing the production, or use, of renewable energy
c) Improving energy efficiency
d) Increasing climate resilience
e) Identifying nature-based projects that enhance biodiversity and seek to reduce, or increase the removal of, greenhouse gas emissions or support climate resilience in the State
f) Involving potentially innovative solutions to address the above asks.

Furthermore:

a) Projects must meet the objective “to shape and build low carbon, sustainable communities in a coherent way to contribute to national climate and energy targets.”
b) Project must address one or more of the five programme themes, as set out below.
c) Projects must comply with all statutory requirements in relation to planning, building regulations, Health and Safety, and Fire Codes etc., if applicable.
d) Community groups must be able to demonstrate their ability to carry out the proposed works.

Project funding scales

Funding is available for 100% vouched expenditure of the project and there are three project sizes eligible:

Small scale projects < €20,000
Medium scale projects €20,000 to €50,000
Large scale projects €50,000 to €100,000

How does the programme work?

Several projects will be selected which demonstrate climate action at a local level in Monaghan. Local communities will be selected following an Application phase and will carry-out their direct climate action projects over 18 months. Projects can include a suite of measures, not just one specific action.

The Community Climate Action Programme Phase 2 is open for applications from 28^th October 2025

The Community Climate Action Programme is a programme to support small and large, rural and urban communities to take climate action at a local level. The funding is provided by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment and administered by Monaghan County Council to help support communities to promote and assist in the scale up of community climate action.

The overall objective of the programme is to shape and build low carbon, sustainable communities in a coherent way to contribute to national climate and energy targets.

There are two strands:

Strand 1- Action: Building Low Carbon Communities:

Similar to Phase 1, Monaghan County will be given a per capita allocation for projects under strand 1. Under this scheme communities will carry out projects that have a direct climate action impact.

Strand 1a- Shared Island Community Climate Action:

This strand is to enable communities and local authorities to carry out a cross-border project in partnership with a community in Northern Ireland. Please note phase 2 of Strand 1a will not be launching until a later date.

Project Themes

Projects must demonstrate the delivery of national climate action at a local level for strand 1. There are five programme themes and communities should try to incorporate as many themes as possible.

The themes are:

Community energy
Travel
Food & waste
Shopping & recycling
Local climate & environmental action

Successful projects under Phase 1 of Community Climate Action Programme.

A wide range of projects were approved for funding during the first phase such as:

Replacement windows and doors
Replacement of lights to upgrade to LEDs
Insulate Attic and walls
Install Solar PV and Battery
Develop or Improve Community Garden
Planting trees or native hedging, fruit trees or berry bushes
Develop a Nature space for biodiversity and amenity
Purchase and install bike parking (including any civil works)
Purchase and install water bottle fillers/ drinking water fountain (including any civil works)
Water Harvester

Applications open online on Tuesday 28th October at 9am.

Please see link to the application form: https://documents.monaghancoco.ie/forms/CAFBLCC

Applications will close at 4pm on Tuesday, 6^th January, 2026.

Before starting the application form, please refer to the Briefing and Guidelines Notes carefully.

Please ensure to save your online application periodically.

Applicants are encouraged to contact The Community Climate Action Officer Mary Clerkin at the earliest opportunity to discuss the application process prior to submitting the application form online.

Contact: 047 61176 or climateaction@monaghancoco.ie

Interested community groups should attend information events hosted by Monaghan County Council to learn more about the fund.

Follow us on social media @Monaghan County Council

Documents and Resources

Briefing note and Guideline Document of Community Climate Action Fund (PDF)

Examples of Community Climate Action Projects (PDF)

Planning Your Project And Applying For Funding (PDF)

Monaghan County Council Climate Action Fund Information Webinar (YouTube)

Contact details

Email: climateaction@monaghancoco.ie

Tel: 047 61176