merrion street

 Government launches four funds for rural development, urban regeneration, climate action and innovation totalling € 4 billion

Everyday people are frustrated with the amount of time they spend trying to make their idea fit into Government eligibility rules rather than meeting the real needs of their community, the Irish economy or our environment.

The criteria are choking creativity.

We are as a country playing catch-up on our obligations in relation to climate change.  This is as much our opportunity as our obligation. In any event it is a moral necessity and a vital national interest.

Effective change is putting the levers for climate action into people’s hands. Delivery requires fundamental transformation in our thinking.

These four funds are a blank canvas.

The €500million Fund, that I have driven on Climate Action, which will be open for applications next month, can support projects ranging from wave energy off our west coast to electrifying our bus fleet, to heating our homes and businesses using farm and food waste.

While the greatest problems facing humanity may be global in scale, the fact is their solutions are local, and the key to their implementation is personal.

These four funds are a new way of thinking. A new way of problem solving in communities both in urban and rural areas, business and enterprise on climate and our environment.

They are about turning innovative ideas into practical action.

Thank You.