Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is good to hear from representatives. I am sorry for stepping out earlier. As sometimes happens in the Oireachtas, the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications is on at the same time as this committee meeting and I am a member of both.

I am very interested in the topic and I was one of those who was elected in the first round of local government reforms in 2014, which gave us new municipal districts and, supposedly, a new way of doing local governments, to which the PPNs were central. I have six years of working closely with PPNs locally in Meath. It was interesting to hear from Ms Clancy in terms of the experience and the almost tokenism of some of it. We are in an era of politics of consultation and public engagement and there is a box to be ticked for everything that happens. As Ms Kelliher pointed out, there are very different meanings to consultation, engagement and empowerment of communities.

My question is for each of the groups. We need to move into a real era of community involvement in climate action. That is why we are here and have had a series of meetings. I ask the witnesses to reflect on their experience of the PPNs and point us towards the opportunities that are available for good engagement. What we also want is mobilisation, not just engagement. We want to empower communities and mobilise them into climate action. That is where my main interest in this topic lies. I am seeking the witnesses' critical reflections on how PPNs and local government play their roles. There is an element about sharing power that does not really happen, as it can be dependent on individual officials or councillors. How do PPNs relate to sustainable energy communities, for which they are to be a vehicle?