Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Butler. I invite Senator Pauline O'Reilly to address her Commencement matter.

Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party)
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I understand the Minister of State is taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys. If there are outstanding matters, I ask that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, refer back to me. I understand she is not available today.

I wish to speak about an organisation called Green Sod Ireland. It is an amazing organisation which does its work voluntarily. Like many environmental organisations, it is scraping around in search of funding to keep itself going. One of the key issues this organisation and many others have is multi-annual core funding. Green Sod Ireland is disappointed that it has not been successful when it has applied previously to the scheme to support national organisations. I am told it has not been successful because of the criteria, which are addressing poverty and social exclusion and promoting equality. I believe much of the work the organisation does could qualify under these criteria. Apart from that, however, it is quite disappointing to see environmental organisations, which put so much into their local communities, being turned down for this type of funding. I ask that the Minister consider broadening the criteria if she does not feel they match.

I will give an outline of the organisation's work. It has over 100 acres at present. It has had to turn down donations of more acres. Its members are stewards and custodians of that land, ensuring that it is rewilded and that habitats are brought back to their natural state. It varies from place to place. The organisation has tracts of land in Ballinrobe in Mayo, in Connemara, Galway, Cavan and Donegal. It has areas all over the country and part of its function is to provide support for ecologists to do a report and then to maintain the land. Its members also visit schools and promote biodiversity. They work with communities to bring these tracts of land back to life.

As the Minister of State can understand, it is very much about equality of access to our wild spaces and equality in the broadest sense of equality for all species. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State and to hearing about what other schemes the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, could provide in this respect. While I am aware that there are other schemes, I believe the organisation also has not received funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which was a great disappointment. Doors are being closed to it all the time. However, this scheme applies more generally and I am sure I am not alone in having organisations coming to me to seek multi-annual funding. It is time we stepped up because applying for a grant only gives funding for a small project, which means the organisation cannot retain a member of staff or plan for the long term. It is also a major burden to make grant applications year after year, and perhaps several in one year, to sustain the organisation.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for raising this issue with regard to environmental organisations working in the community, including Green Sod Ireland. The Senator explained in detail the work it does and where it is located throughout the country.

With the publication of Climate Action Plan 2021, the Government recognises that there is an opportunity to create a cleaner, greener economy and society that can cut emissions, create jobs and protect both the planet and people. In keeping with Green Sod Ireland’s purpose to protect and conserve Irish land in perpetuity, for the sake of its indigenous inhabitants, cleaner air, warmer homes, less traffic congestion, a healthier population and greater biodiversity are among the many benefits Ireland will enjoy as a result of taking action. The Climate Action Plan 2021 sets out a pathway to reducing carbon emissions by 51% by 2030 and becoming a net zero and climate neutral economy by no later than 2050.Although the targets are challenging and require fundamental changes in many parts of Irish life, standing still is not an option. The benefits to rural communities are many, including: new opportunities in sustainable industries; improved water and air quality; improved quality of land; increased biodiversity; and a climate-resilient, robust and profitable agrifood sector.

Climate Action Plan 2021 places specific emphasis on citizen engagement. To this end, Pobal and the Minister launched strand 2 of the community climate action programme, which focuses on climate education, capacity building and learning by doing. An overall budget for strand 2 is set at €5 million. Its aim is to build capacity and know-how of communities, enabling and empowering them to become low-carbon in an inclusive and collaborative manner. It is envisaged the strand will fund a mix of different types of projects that focus on providing climate education rather than awareness, and this will lead to tangible climate action within communities. The funding will facilitate eligible organisations to develop supports, tools, approaches and know-how with local communities to tackle climate change. The key point to note in that regard is that it will facilitate eligible organisations.

In keeping with the citizen engagement theme in Climate Action Plan 2021, the Department of Rural and Community Development has committed to complete a public participation networks, PPNs, structural review, with a focus on ensuring PPNs are fit for purpose for climate action as per the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future. In addition, the Department will facilitate consultation with communities on climate policy through the public participation networks in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Under the Climate Action Plan 2021, the Department of Rural and Community Development is also working with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to develop and include a module on climate change in the guidelines for the development of new local economic and community plans.

The mission of the Department of Rural and Community Development is to promote rural and community development and support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities. Funding is available under the rural regeneration and development fund to support job creation in rural areas, address depopulation of rural communities and support improvements in towns and villages with a population of fewer than 10,000 persons, as well as outlying areas. Initial funding of €315 million has been allocated to the fund on a phased basis for the period 2019-22. Category 1 applications for the fund are now open for submissions. Funding will support large-scale regeneration projects that are ready to commence.

All measures under outdoor recreation and infrastructure schemes are supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development in partnership with Fáilte Ireland. The aim is to promote the development of a sustainable outdoor recreation sector that leverages our natural environment for the benefit of local communities and Ireland’s tourism offering.

Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party)
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I thank the Minister of State. The type of language she is using is very welcome. It is a change from where we were a couple of years ago and that is very welcome, as is the amount of funding. However, I go back to my point on multi-annual funding, which is what these organisations are seeking. The Department has a key role in this regard. It is not just for other Departments. I ask the Minister of State to request that the Minister review that to ensure all organisations providing community engagement and community-based projects have equal access. Every part of the planet, including humans and all the different species, is inextricably linked, so we must consider them equally and place them all on an equal footing. I would like to hear the Minister of State commit to going back to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and making the argument that these groups need multi-annual funding.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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To conclude, in November 2021, €15.5 million in funding was announced for 84 outdoor adventure projects. The projects chosen for investment include walking and cycling trails, cliffways, beaches, lakes, rivers, bogs, greenways, blueways and bridleways. This investment, which is a key part of Our Rural Future, will support rural economies and I know all present welcome this investment throughout the country.

I take on board the point the Senator is making in respect of multi-annual funding. We have discussed at length in the Department of Health how important multi-annual funding is in terms of facilitating planning. We saw this first hand last year in the context of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.For the first time, we had multi-annual funding, a commitment of €30 billion. We also saw such multi-annual funding for Irish Water. It means one can plan ahead. I know how important it is. I will relay the matter to the Minister's Department and let it know exactly how the Senator is feeling. I thank her for her interest.