Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir:

Deputy Bríd Smith asked about the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly. The first recommendation was that climate change should be at the centre of policy-making. This has come up during the deliberations, but I do not think a new body is required. We need, instead, to strengthen what already exists, such as putting this committee on a permanent footing, as well as the advisory council. The fourth recommendation was on the vulnerability of critical infrastructure. The issue of adaptation does get not much discussion but it is an important recommendation. The sixth recommendation concerned trying to increase levels of community ownership in all future renewable energy projects by encouraging communities to develop their own projects. There are some moves on that with the recent renewable electricity support scheme. It does focus on electricity and community ownership and better community engagement could be extended to renewable heat and transport,