Mr. Ois?n Coghlan:

It is almost a whole other workshop or hearing. To be honest, my big worry is that the risk to climate action across Europe is so significant now as a result of a bunch of factors that it will not be noticed whether Ireland is quite as good or bad as it claims. Over the past five years, or going back to the citizens' assembly to and to Deputy Bruton's reference to the first climate action plan, that was the shifting point. It is my analysis but it is inclusive of all the parties and the work that was done in this room by the special Committee on Climate Action. They were all pivotal moments. There has been a great deal of progress on governance and processes. Indeed, while we must wait to see the EPA figures, it looks like there has also been some progress on emissions now. We do not know to what degree that is a once-off versus a trend, but we can try to make it a trend. I believe there has been - on an all-party basis - significant progress over the past five years since those school strikers were out in March 2019 and since the committee did its special citizens' assembly-based report.

We have to keep hope alive. I am really worried that politicians and the public will give up just as we are at the point of beginning to make a difference. I totally appreciate the politics of implementation, so I think it comes down to the stories we tell to the public about what this process is, where we are going and why we are doing it. I am aware that all the members do this on a daily basis, but the system as a whole may have some way to go on that. The Chair raised the point about public participation, and maybe Dr. Hough will also come in on this. If one does public participation well, both in advance and then in the just transition process, it can help. There is no silver bullet but it can help offset or allay some of the fears out there when it comes to implementation. There is a connection between good public participation and the easier politics of implementation. It is not straightforward but there is a link.