Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcomed the Supreme Court judgment at the time and I still do. The amendments we will make to the Act will, I hope, reflect the judgment and set in place, as I said earlier, the graduated budgeting process that would allow us to deliver a step by step approach to meeting our climate targets.

Without being critical of any one council, I should reflect that in the series of meetings I had throughout the country, particularly on the July economic stimulus, I encouraged councils to make as many applications as they could to allow for investment in these climate projects and I said directly at the meetings, and it is on the record, that Galway did not have the most ambitious response. There was no shortage of funds available from central level but, unfortunately, other counties and cities throughout the country were far more ambitious in the applications for funding they made. I cited the example of the Connemara greenway where funding was provided but has not been spent. In many instances I do not believe it is just a lack of funding. There must be some other obstacles that are preventing the development of projects that would be of benefit to the local community and the climate. I raise this because I believe Galway needs to start investing significantly in this. It is not always a lack of central funds that is the obstacle or the problem.

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