Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not disagree with the Minister and I am delighted that community projects are out of the auction system. They should never have been in it in the first place. When we declared a climate emergency, we spoke about needing transformative change because our corporate model and other models had not worked for energy. That transformative change will come from the ground up and nowhere else. When community and other ground-up initiatives come forward, they need help, including financial assistance. The Minister mentioned that technical expertise was available from the SEAI and that there would be financial aid.

While I welcome the Minister saying that there has been a change, on what basis was that decided? I would like to be empowered so that I can help empower my communities in how they proceed. Where is it spelled out in the Department’s analysis what the challenges were for those projects that, after going to significant effort, dropped out? Maybe they could come forward again if we knew what challenges they faced. Is there a piece of research somewhere in the Minister’s office or his Department that we could have access to so that we could empower ourselves and, more importantly, our communities?

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