Mr. Kevin McCarthy:

To clarify the Deputy's first question about whether what I have set out predates the IPCC report, the answer is it does. What I have been describing is a programme of activity in which the Department is engaged across a range of programmes and funding schemes. Collectively, their purpose is to support rural development and to support the development of sustainable communities in terms of the broad description of what that involves. As I said in my opening statement, through those investments we have the opportunity, in working with and facilitating communities in coming forward with ideas, to support initiatives and projects that have a very direct climate action impact and a very direct positive climate effect. It is not necessarily the core purpose of those programmes, however. At a broader level, given our remit in promoting rural development and supporting balanced regional development, there is a strong consistency between the overall effort in which we are engaged and the climate action agenda. If one is supporting the development of strong, sustainable communities at a local, regionally dispersed level and if one is giving those communities the tools they need in terms of employment opportunity and quality environments in which to live, one is supporting a better balanced development overall. That is very consistent with the climate action agenda. We did not take the IPCC report into account in the design of these programmes. With regard to all of the programmes and funds in which we are involved, we keep watch on the overall policy landscape on all of its fronts to ensure what we are investing in and supporting is delivering on Government policy across the broad range of objectives the Government has for rural Ireland. Climate change is an important part of that, as I have described.

As the Acting Chairman has clarified with regard to the fuel allowance and the Deputy's question about home insulation services, while I have cited a couple of projects that have supported retrofitting of homes, we got involved in those projects because, as part of wider funding schemes, communities were coming forward with initiatives in that area which allowed us to support particular projects. We do not have overall responsibility for retrofitting homes which, as the Acting Chairman has pointed out, falls under the remit of the SEAI and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.

On energy democracy and engaging communities, it is very much at the core of what we are trying to do generally in terms of community empowerment. I described briefly in the opening statement some of the structures and the framework we have in place to try to generate capacity at community level to allow communities to engage more effectively with decision-making processes both at local authority level and with central government. Our role is to try to generate that capacity and develop the structures locally that allow communities to engage with what central government is trying to do and to allow communities to input into decision-making at central government level and at local authority level. Energy communities are part of that. There are some initiatives where we are supporting particular energy communities. The SEAI, as the committee will have heard, has a very good scheme around energy communities and we are certainly looking to see what support we can give to it in terms of how our various programmes and investments can align better with what it is trying to do. We can support communities in generating the ideas that allow them to make a real contribution to what they see as their requirements at a local level.

On the question about protecting biodiversity, the Heritage Act and rural transport, the Deputy is asking me to comment on the policy responsibilities of other Departments. I want to make that point. Protection of biodiversity is first and foremost the responsibility of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Clearly, what we are doing in the outdoor recreation scheme, for example, in investing in greenways, blueways, walks trails and so on, is really about helping communities to identify their own natural heritage locally as a real asset for the community. In general terms, that is what we are trying to do to support and empower rural communities. It is encouraging and supporting them to make the best use of their natural amenities. We clearly-----