Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We declared a climate emergency and a biodiversity emergency in 2019. While I welcome the Minister of State’s positive comments, I have no idea as to how the Government is making decisions. In RESS 1, seven community projects were successful but only four remain. I have no details in that regard. I understand that three pulled out and four are in progress. In RESS 2, eight community projects were successful, but we do not know how many are still functioning, if they will be extended or what review the Department has carried out in respect of them. The Government has now changed tack and is going with RESS 3 while a support package will be announced later this year. I do not know whether that is good or bad, but I will say where I am coming from - I believe that an integral part of the solution is community-led projects with people on board. The duty of the Minister of State and his Department is to outline to us in clear, readable English what progress has been achieved, what the Government has learned, what has failed and why the Government has changed tack. It would be helpful if they could do that.

Perhaps a new approach would be to get copies of the responses to questions. It would be helpful for Deputies to have those while the Minister of State reads them out.

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