Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have witnessed considerable drought this year. Does the Department have any requirements or regulations in terms of water harvesting in new builds, including buildings, single dwellings and commercial dwellings? I imagine that will be required in the long term or short term.

I came across a new word in the Department's document that I had never heard before: "barrage". What does that mean? Has it been successful in other countries? What does it mean exactly?

My next question is on mitigation and forestry. Mr. McCarthy has talked about developing additional forests and mixed species and so on. Does the role of the Department go so far as to engaging with the State agencies that hold large landbanks?

Another question relates to the national planning framework and the role of local authorities. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report was published in recent days. Is the Department now accelerating the work that it had planned to do under the national planning framework? It strikes me that all the Departments need to put the foot on the accelerator as far as that goes, although not using fossil fuels.