Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not think it is one of the most urgent issues; it is the most urgent issue, in my book, because of the number of people who live on our coast. Our largest urban centres, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford are all coastal. We also have a relationship with Northern Ireland, and Belfast and Derry are coastal. We are an island and the sea is rising around us. If we are threatened by anything, we are threatened by the sea in this country. The sea is our greatest risk at the moment.

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