Mr. Paddy Mahon:

The PPNs are very much linked to community representation and community involvement in local authorities, and there has been positive engagement already in the conversation on climate change and climate action in 2021 via the PPNs and, indeed, Comhairle na nÓg. The PPNs are very important. They reach into all the communities across the country through the local authority networks, and it has proved to the Department to be very beneficial in terms of the conversation leading into the climate action Bill and the climate action plan and the Act.

In the area of the reviewing of county development plans, we are all at various stages in the review and updating of our county development plans. Climate action very much governs the determination of the new county and city development plans that are either in place or being put in place by us in Longford and our colleagues throughout the country. Climate action is becoming an overarching element of how we plan for our future. Where I am, in the midlands, the impact of climate action on the closure of the power stations in Longford and Offaly has a fundamental impact right now on how we plan for our future. As I mentioned earlier, one of our key objectives as a sector is the area of just transition. We are experiencing the full impact of what is a just transition and the territorial plan that is being consulted on at present in the midlands as we speak.