Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Mr. Macken says the proposal is strategic in nature while also referring to operational issues. I find it difficult to tie the two of those together. I am trying to think of what will be the practical application of the seventh programme. To get a sense of where people fit into this, I have been looking at some of the practical things that have been done elsewhere. The Haringey carbon commission report was a positive initiative which involved a whole community. It included measures such as low-carbon districts and steps to make people understand the practical issues.

For example, the fall-off in the number of people insulating their homes - the environment issue straddles a number of Departments - is an indication that people do not completely buy into the process. It appears that a lot of what is being done is from a top-down perspective. I would like to hear what outcomes are expected as a consequence of our adopting this measure which would have a bottom-up element to them. I believe buy-in by individual citizens and communities is incredibly important. Can there be included in this measure a component such as the local government community initiative, which has been piloted in certain areas? Is this likely to be an operational consequence of the strategic headings that will be developed?