Ms Justina Corcoran:

We currently fund the climate action regional offices, CAROs and we give them €10 million over five years, which is €2 million a year. They were originally established to oversee the national adaptation framework, where there was an onus on local authorities to devise 31 local adaptation strategies. They co-ordinated that piece of work and that work has been done since 2019 and it is now in the implementation phase. Because the climate action plans have to have adaptation and mitigation measures in them, those strategies will now merge into an overall climate action plan. We would foresee an active role for the CAROs to oversee and co-ordinate that process, working closely with the Department and the local authorities.

The other piece the Deputy raised is around the staff in the local authorities - the people on the ground - and the need for a climate co-ordinator and a climate action officer. The local authorities have had a submission with the Department for some time. We have been working with the local authorities and I meet them on a regular basis. Because we are not traditionally the parent Department for local authorities, we need to make sure our own structures are aligned and that we are adhering to all of our public spending code responsibilities, and that our Vote is set up to allow for all of that funding. It is being considered at the highest level within the Department. The Department recognises funding is needed to deliver on the commitments set out in the climate Act and under the national climate action plan. I hope we would have something positive to report to the local authorities over the next short while.