A side point here but, having grown up in (or just outside) Mullingar, I absolutely love the idea of it being one of the country's urban metropolii ! Take that, Athlone!

I challenged a dog walker doing just this - she said she was going to collect it when she returned from her walk (and placed it next to 30 near-identical others) - and strode off.

I'm always perplexed about why pension funds aren't at the vanguard of climate investments - their whole basis is to improve their beneficiaries' spending power in 20 - 40 years' time. How about them targeting a low-cost future brought about by a stable climate?

There's also the 'churn' of staff within both central and local government to consider - relationships take time to develop but any major change (such as the current one) brings with it a major reshuffling of existing staff and new starters who need time to get used to their new roles.

In my experience, bureaucracy works best when there are clear roles, consistency, and a mutual recognition of the value that different parties are bringing to a challenge/issue. With that as the basis, the personal relationships help everything to run more smoothly.