Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I left out County Sligo; there are four counties in the region. I have been looking at the local newspaper which has the headline: "Council coffers Covid collapse". There is no money in Galway city. That is one local authority and I am sure it is going to be repeated. A briefing document issued last Monday by Galway County Council set out its strategic projects. There was one little paragraph on climate change in the whole 20-page document. It referred to the regional office, but did so in the context of the need for dedicated staff on the ground and dedicated resources. It set it out absolutely clearly. I am fully on the Minister's side where the need for urgent steps on climate change is concerned - we have no choice about it. Using these words and giving me an answer like that without any recognition that on the ground there are no staff and no resources to implement any plan, not to mention the National Adaptation Framework to which he referred and which was passed by Galway County Council back in 2019, is disappointing.

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