Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 February 2023
63. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will provide an update on the work of the community climate action programme and engagement with local authorities to ensure uptake; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9946/23]
View answerMy question relates to the local authority community climate action programme, which was launched last year. I understand there is a new iteration of or funding stream for it. What is the status of that and has there been uptake?
I thank the Deputy. The community climate action programme will see more than €60 million from the climate action fund invested in supporting communities to run direct climate action projects and initiatives under strand 1 as well as capacity building under strand 2 of the programme. The 18 projects selected for funding under strand 2 of the programme are currently moving to implementation. This was an open call run by Pobal, worth €5 million, for education, capacity building and learning by doing projects.
Strand 1 was launched on 2 February this year, under which €27 million is being provided to all local authorities to support building low carbon communities in a considered and structured way. Of that €27 million, €24 million is being provided from the climate action fund for strand 1, which supports community and voluntary groups who want to partner with their local authority to implement climate action projects within their local area. A further €3 million is being provided by the shared island fund, which will fund similar types of projects on a cross-Border or whole-island basis, involving community groups and local authorities, in partnership with community groups and local authorities in Northern Ireland.
To encourage participation, part of the strand 1 climate action fund allocation has been ring-fenced to enable each local authority to hire a designated member of staff to implement the programme. Once in place, community climate action officers will engage with community groups on potential projects, assist them in their applications and recommend particular projects for partnership between the local authorities and community groups.
The majority of local authorities have indicated they will have a community climate action officer in place by the end of the second quarter of 2023. I look forward to seeing this important programme progressing, supported by the recruitment of community climate action officers by local authorities and by ongoing engagement with and support from my Department.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. I am encouraged. There is no shortage of funding for projects like this. The sum of €60 million is a great deal of money for 80 projects. It is incumbent on the House, the Minister of State and the Minister to follow the local authorities closely in the hiring process because we know they have had history in the past, in particular with biodiversity officers, which have been an issue in some local authorities. It is important for local authorities to show leadership in the advice they can give to communities. That is why such a fund is so important.
The cross-Border funding allocation stream 1A relates to expenditure, 50% of which, I believe, is allocated to Northern Ireland. The Minister of State might outline whether he has a flavour of any the projects under consideration. Biodiversity improvements and food waste, in particular, are areas where local authorities should play a significant leadership role.
As the Deputy said, there is a challenge with staffing. Things cannot happen without staffing. On the community climate action officers, the four Dublin local authorities are recruiting their officers on a regional basis. They expect to have staff in place by late April. The post is currently advertised on the Fingal County Council website, on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities, and the closing date for applications is 10 March. I encourage anybody who wants to work in the community climate action sector to apply for the role.
When local authorities have their community climate action officers in place in advance of the launch and have a query about salary costs, they should engage with my Department. There have been questions about this. The Deputy asked whether projects in the food sector and biodiversity are involved. Of course they are. I have worked with organisations like FoodCloud. There is a national food waste prevention programme which aims to reduce our food waste by 50% by 2030. All of those areas are key for us.
I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the information he has provided to the House. I focused on food waste because it is an area where we as a State need to make significant improvements. As I have said, I believe local authorities will play a key role in delivering on our collective climate ambitions.
The Minister of State might mention nature recovery and sustainable farming which, I believe, are part of strand 1A of the fund and will see 50% of the fund allocated to Northern Ireland. I would like to hear whether local authorities in the Border region have initiated such applications and if the Minister of State thinks those projects will be up and running by the end of the year.
I thank the Deputy. Strand 1A is open to community, voluntary and non-profit groups that want to take part. They have to partner with a local authority. As the Deputy said, there are cross-Border projects and there have been successful connections. While the senior levels of the political system in Northern Ireland may be stuck, at local authority level we are making progress. At official level we try to establish every contact we can make so that we can continue to work with Northern organisations.
Much of this is related to agriculture. There is a great deal of fruit and vegetable farming in the Deputy's constituency of Fingal. There will be many opportunities in those areas for sustainable and organic farming, reducing food waste and a circular economy, which involves taking things that were waste products that had to be paid for and ensuring they become useful inputs for businesses.
