merrion street

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien has welcomed the first meeting of the National Coastal Change Management Strategy Steering Group.

The group, tasked with considering the development of an integrated, whole of Government coastal change strategy, will report to Government within six months with initial findings and recommendations.

Speaking following their first meeting Minister O’Brien said,

Coming from a constituency which has been, and continues to be greatly impacted by coastal erosion, I understand the grave challenges this presents and the importance of the work to be carried out by this group.

The group will examine how Ireland can best manage our coastline and mitigate the risks from rising sea levels and more frequent extreme sea events. We will work closely with the OPW which have previously undertaken work in this regard.

For those living in coastal communities, such as Portrane in North Co. Dublin, coastal erosion is already having a profound impact. Around Ireland, it’s projected that by 2050, the impact of coastal erosion could potentially affect up to 2 million people who live within 5km of the coast, all the major cities, and much of the country’s industry and infrastructure and utilities, including transport, electricity and water supplies. 

The work of this group cannot be underestimated and that is why a number of Departments are represented on this group. I look forward to working closely with them and reporting our recommendations to Government,

he concluded.