Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir:

It is a challenging topic and I do not envy politicians in the next number of months as we have seen an increase in toxicity. What has been on screens has been effectively a form of home invasion and it is a hugely challenging time. Sometimes what we does see with some of the more toxic elements of social media is that the louder voices rise to the top and do not reflect at all what is happening across wider society.

As was mentioned, the surveys show clearly where people stand on climate change in Ireland. That does not reflect what we might see on social media or, indeed, what we might here on some of the doorsteps but one might not hear the positive elements on the other doorsteps.

I agree that shining a light on those examples such as people living in warmer, more comfortable and healthier homes is a key part of the communication challenge.

For our part, in terms of this work the project is finished. We had a meeting with the EPA and we meet regularly among ourselves to discuss how we can help to get the message out. An example of that is bringing this to the committee today. We plan over the next while to provide more opportunities to communicate the good news and, indeed, all the news that we found and speak to the opportunities because that often does not get the airtime it should.