Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for choosing this matter and the Minister for being here. During the programme for Government discussions there were a number of conversations about this proposed competition. It did not make the final draft but it was something that we engaged on.

We must mobilise communities right across the country in the climate change challenge. The green schools initiative has been a particularly good example of mobilising the next generation and we must bring that sense of spirit and adventure to communities.

My town of Ballina is very proud of its daughter, Mary Robinson. At the last major public gathering in the town before Covid-19 arrived, she set a challenge, saying that if somebody does something on their own, we wonder what difference it makes, but what if whole communities do it? She said that if the entire population were to live differently, it would change the system. With those words in mind, a large number of groups have come together, including Ballina Chamber and the Ballina Community Clean Up. One of our natives, Mr. Kevin Loftus, is a young man from the town working with a Dutch-based architectural practice in urban regeneration. All these people and groups are looking at how we can make Ballina Ireland's greenest town.

There are a number of commitments in the programme for Government, including a commitment to "mobilise "Challenge Calls" to identify and fund fresh, disruptive ideas to help meet our targets from broader society". If the Minister issues such a call and gives me the details, Ballina will answer that challenge. The programme for Government also commits to expanding the environmental fund to invest in biodiversity and climate initiatives. I invite the Minister to come to see the work being done in the town this year alone around biodiversity through the work of the "Beelieve in Ballina" initiative led by Ballina Community Clean Up. Supporting towns in an ambition to be the country's greenest town is a perfect fit for that fund, and there is also a commitment to a local environmental innovation fund to enhance community participation.

All this could be based on the very successful European Green Leaf Award, which involves towns that are bigger than I would envisage - between 20,000 and 100,000 people - but we could adapt the model. Limerick has previously been a winner in the competition. The European Green Leaf Award recognises urban centres with good environmental records and commitments to generating green growth and it encourages centres to actively develop citizens' environmental awareness and involvement. It also encourages centres to be green ambassadors and to encourage other towns and communities. Ballina is up for that challenge and many other towns across the country are up for it too.

I remember in the very early days of the Internet there was an Information Age Town competition, which mobilised towns across the country in seeking the benefits of the Internet and how they could apply them. We should do something similar to bring people on board with this challenge and get them to recognise the urgency of this matter. We must realise that we can no longer put this on the long finger but at the same time we can see the positives of communities uniting that can be brought to people's daily lives. The best thing we can do in taking on this challenge is to do this as a collective and a community.

As I mentioned, the programme for Government speaks of a challenge and we are up for that challenge in Ballina. I am sure many other towns in the country are up for it too. If the Minister sets the challenge, we will take it on.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this topic. The programme for Government sets out our ambition to more than halve our carbon emissions over the course of the decade.

The action we take in the coming years will be critical in order to address the climate crisis which renders our current economic model redundant and threatens our safe future on this planet. In order to deliver on our expanded and deepened climate ambition, additional far-reaching policy changes will be developed across every sector. The development of the next iteration of the climate action plan has commenced and cross-cutting measures such as those related to citizens' engagement will be important to involve the wider community in the formulation and implementation of the plan.

While there is no commitment in the programme for Government for a greenest town competition, the programme does commit to support a new green flag programme for communities building on the successful programme in schools. To achieve this we need to bring communities with us as new energy infrastructure gets installed. The climate action plan includes a number of relevant actions on renewable connection policy, community elements in the renewable electricity support scheme, RESS, and microgeneration to promote community involvement in renewable energy. It provides for training and support for initiatives where community and voluntary stakeholders to support community, local and national low-carbon development, incorporating community outreach elements.

Accordingly, the Government will prioritise the development of microgeneration, letting people sell excess power back to the grid by June 2021. We will ensure community energy can play a role in reaching at least 70% renewable electricity, which included a community benefit fund and a community category within the first RESS auction last summer. We will continue to work with the EU to agree community participation as an integral part of installing new renewable energy and a route for community participation in the projects. We will conclude the review of the current planning exemptions relating to solar panels to ensure that households, schools and communities can be strong champions of climate action.

The Government is also progressing a number of related initiatives, including the transposition of the renewable energy directive by June 2020, continued funding for the SEAI's solar PV programme, the roll out of the smart meter programme by 2024, implementation of the support framework for microgeneration targeted for June 2021 and revision of the exemptions under planning regulations in relation to solar installations. In addition, a review by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, of network charges in Ireland is planned in 2020. The CRU also proposes to implement a new connection policy for micro and small generators above 11 kW hours and below 50 kW hours by June 2021.

The RESS includes a ring-fenced community preference category within the auction that will support community projects and future renewable auctions will seek to increase the community preference category volume as a larger pipeline of shovel-ready community projects develops. Seven community projects qualified for the community category in the first auction which shows the way for more community projects to follow in subsequent auctions. The RESS auctions also include a mandatory community benefit fund requirement for all projects, the proceeds of which can be used by communities to progress sustainable community projects.

The programme for Government also commits to the development of a new model of engagement with citizens, sectors and regions as an early priority for Government, building on the learning of recent years. The new model will embrace dialogue on a structured basis so that diverse elements of society can contribute to the process. There will be a specific youth dialogue strand and we will also promote citizen, sectoral and regional involvement in delivering actions within their own sphere of influence.

Since 2017 Departments, the EPA and local authorities have engaged with various elements of Irish society to engage citizens on the need for climate action and a number of regional town hall meetings have been held. A number of other initiatives across Government, including my Department, are in progress which are raising awareness and calling citizens to action. These include the nationwide green schools national climate action and awareness programme, engagement with the arts community, the youth climate justice fund and local authority initiatives. My Department has recently commenced a series of meetings with other key Departments to plan for a widespread public consultation process on a 2021 climate action plan. It is anticipated that this public consultation will take place early next year and input will be sought from citizens, businesses and academics. The 2021 climate action plan will be informed by this consultation and the plan's overall structure and focus will remain flexible to adapt and evolve over time as Ireland strives to first achieve and then maintain its long term climate objectives.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for that information but what we need is a structure that makes information and resources accessible to communities that want to act. Communities like Ballina have plans in place and they want to start acting on them, involving the people of the town and the wider region. I would love to get some information from the Minister on the status of the community green flag initiative and the various other initiatives I mentioned such as the challenge call, the environmental fund and the local environmental innovation fund. We must put a structure in place that communities will find easy to access. These community initiatives are being led by volunteers who are passionate about their communities and about the environment. They want to make sure that the environment is there for the next and subsequent generations to enjoy. They are busy people and we need to engage them. The Minister of all people knows that when the passion is there to act, we need to act quickly and put supports in place. A national competition would rally communities. It is not a case of winning but of raising awareness and giving a sense of achievement. It would provide a target for communities and encourage them to put plans in place, knowing that there is funding available at the end to implement those plans.

This week Ballina lost a community champion, the late Mr. Cyril Collins, the founding chairman of the Belleek Woods Enhancement Project. Belleek Woods is one of the biggest urban woods in the country and Mr. Collins, together with a number of his friends and colleagues, as well as Coillte and the Minister's Department, transformed the woods. He went to his eternal reward this week and in his memory I would love to see a long-term structure put in place that will inspire more people like him to take on protecting and minding the environment of towns like Ballina for the next generation.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Deputy Calleary is absolutely right about the need for this to be something from the bottom up that is community led. I could not agree with him more and Ballina would be a fine town to lead that. There are very few towns in Europe that have salmon jumping upriver in the town centre in the dramatic way that can be seen in Ballina, which is such a beautiful town.

I will give the Deputy a couple of pointers for the people of Ballina. Yesterday evening the GAA launched a new greener clubs scheme. Forty five clubs were represented at the launch. I must check if there was a club from Ballina but my own local club, Kilmacud Crokes, is involved along with clubs from all over the country. The scheme is just like the green flag scheme for schools. The aim is to get local GAA clubs involved in supporting biodiversity around their own grounds, in carbon reduction through new and clever ways of using transport to move teams around, in developing waste plans, making efficient use of energy and so on. It is exactly what the Deputy spoke about in terms of encouraging the sharing of best practice and learning from each other. It is really clever because it involves clubs working with local authorities, energy agencies and those with real expertise in the area. Clubs will also learn from each other. It is a really good example of a green scheme and the launch last night was really enthusiastic. The scheme is only beginning but it could be really transformational along the lines outlined by Deputy Calleary.

A second very practical approach that the town of Ballina might consider involves working with the local authority. Last week we announced a competitive fund for local authorities outside of the metropolitan areas. We invited them to present bids for investment in walking and cycling infrastructure in local areas. Some €50 million is not a huge amount of money when divided among all the counties but if we can keep doing this on a regular basis, it will make a difference. If counties and towns start coming up with plans, that will have a transformative effect. It is exactly as the Deputy suggested in terms of being an open fund for which bids can be made to the National Transport Authority.

I have given the Deputy two very practical examples there but on the wider issue of a consultation process with a community-led approach to climate change, I will take the Deputy's suggestion on board and make sure it is delivered within Government because it is absolutely the correct approach to take. We will start that in the new year.