Ireland

Government examining new strategy to manage coastal erosion

Minister hopes plan will map places at risk and show where extra protections are needed

The Cabinet has considered a memo on “managing climate risks to Ireland’s changing coast”. Photograph: Getty Images
The Cabinet has considered a memo on “managing climate risks to Ireland’s changing coast”. Photograph: Getty Images
Fiach Kelly Deputy Political Editor
Wed Mar 04 2020 - 01:04

A new State strategy to manage coastal erosion which Ministers hope will outline where extra protections need to be put in place is being examined by the Government.

The Cabinet on Tuesday considered a memo on recent flooding across the country, as well as “managing climate risks to Ireland’s changing coast”.

Kevin “Boxer” Moran, the Minister of State for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief, attended the meeting.

The memo said a new coastal strategy would be scoped out over a six-month period following a presentation made by Mr Moran to the Cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure last December.

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Mr Moran said he hoped the new strategy would follow the model of the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment programme, which outlined a long-term approach for the reduction and management of flood risk in Ireland.

He hoped the coastal strategy would map out the places around Ireland that were at risk from coastal erosion – which he said would be “as big a problem as flooding” – and show where extra investment and protections were needed.

The memo to Cabinet said: “A high level inter-departmental group on managing coastal change, to be jointly chaired by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the OPW, is to initially scope out, over a six- month period, an approach for the development of an integrated, whole-of-government coastal strategy for managing our changing coast, including the governance structures.”

Ministers

Mr Moran lost his Longford-Westmeath Dáil seat in the general election, and is currently one of a number of Ministers continuing their jobs while they are not TDs. All Ministers remain in place, even if they are not TDs, until a new government is formed.

A number of Independent TDs are currently talking to political parties about forming a new government, and Mr Moran said some of those had mentioned to him that he should be a Taoiseach nominee to the Seanad.

A new taoiseach can directly appoint 11 members of the Seanad, but Mr Moran said any such nominations were solely a matter for the next taoiseach.