Dr. Paul Connolly:

I will address the Deputy's questions on climate change. It will throw up considerable challenges. For example, on seafood, we are witnessing changes in the distribution of fish stocks. It could represent opportunities for new fish stocks coming in, but we do not know. In that regard, we have set up new research to look at this more deeply, working closely with the industry. Climate change is pivotal for the seafood sector.

We need to do more work in the context of climate action. We need to look at the impacts of ocean acidification and temperature rises. A far bigger issue is the prevalence of storm events and the impact that will have on coastal communities. The ability of inshore fishermen to get out on the water will be reduced by storms. We are doing is working with coastal communities on what they understand by climate change. We have a project which links art and science because we found that coastal communities do not understand the concepts of climate change or adaptation. They are confused by it all. We went into coastal communities with an artist and a scientist. The role of the artist was to explain what will happen and what is on the minds of coastal communities. This was used in the climate adaptation public consultation. We need to explain what will happen, the impacts of climate change and how we adapt to climate.