Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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My next question is for Mr. Irfan and Ms Murphy. Regarding getting younger people involved, and we are talking about a generational change, Tidy Towns groups across Ireland do a fantastic job. They do a really good job in their local communities but one of the biggest challenges they have is encouraging younger people to participate. It does take time. It involves going out on Saturday or Sunday morning and weeknights doing things like picking up litter or cutting grass. I know we can say it is up to the council to do that but really it is not. It is up to local communities to have pride in their local towns and villages. Tidy Towns groups would say that getting younger people involved is the biggest challenge they face. When we see their annual awards every year, we can see that it is normally people over 40 or 50 and up to 60, 70 or 80 who are involved.

We may say that the vast majority of that generation of older people do not understand climate change but a huge number of them do understand it. They want change and are very much activists in their own local communities. How does one get younger people in their 20s and 30s involved in local communities, in parish communities, town communities and making their town a better place to live in, to grow up in, more environmentally friendly, and to bring their experience of climate change and everything like that to the table?