Mr. Pat Macken:

The Deputy's point is well made. The level of engagement with the citizen as part of the efficiency process is a concern. We were concerned about it and had a discussion at the informal Environment Council last week which was attended by 21 environment Ministers. We had a discussion on the issue of resource efficiency in terms of how to have greater engagement with the public and ensure greater trust in labelling, including eco-labelling. We facilitated a discussion by a senior OECD person and it turned out to be an interesting debate in terms of how we could secure a buy-in. It is all very well to say we want to promote a greener economy, the allocation of more resources and lower carbon emissions, but how do we mobilise public support in that regard? There was a general discussion on that issue, which is indicative of the priority being given to it. Citizen engagement is a live issue in the context of this proposal as it is being implemented. We made a submission during the development phase of the EAP and stressed the importance of communicating with civil society. That was one of the reasons we did not want the document to be written in officialese or legalese but as a coherent narrative that would mean something to people, whether it be groups or individuals in member states when it came to implement it.