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

I was very pleased that every one of the 31 local authorities and their councillors approved their local climate action plans in the timeframe we requested, namely by March. We have to be up front and honest that the level of engagement varies between counties but there was a very real effort to make sure that happened.

I agree with the Deputy. We need to go forward and really focus on the implementation phase in the decarbonising zones but also in monitoring and measuring. We will make sure that we do deliver those monitoring and reporting standards so that local authorities can be measured and tested on performance and delivery.

We must be careful, however. It cannot all be top down from the centre. It also has be bottom up and owned at local level. I had a series of meetings in Galway, both city and county. Another element in the mix is other actors. I had a very good meeting with Galway Chamber of Commerce which was absolutely sincere and committed about the business sector playing its part. That is not only the local authorities but also, returning to what we were saying earlier, our sustainable energy groups and so on. Yesterday, I met groups around the country which are involved with the sustainable development goals. It has to be broad. It cannot just be the local authority or business. It must be a variety of organisations, such as tidy towns organisations, local Macra and so on, which also have a role. Encouraging and facilitating them within the climate plans will be key.

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