Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for his question. I welcome the publication of Ireland's first national climate change risk assessment. We can already see the effects of climate change through the impact of storms including Babet, Darragh and, most recently, Éowyn. Attribution studies inform us that climate change is adding significantly to the strength of these extreme weather events. Adapting to the new reality and building resilience to the impact of climate change is critical. The Government is committed to protecting Ireland’s present and future generations by developing climate adaptation measures to manage the impact of extreme weather events. We recognise the need to support communities, businesses and ecosystems as climate risks continue to rise.

Last year, the Government approved Ireland’s second national adaptation framework. The national climate change risk assessment is a key deliverable under this framework. The risk assessment is a significant piece of work that will support our understanding of the risks of climate change and will help the Government to prioritise actions and direct resources to counter the risks that we must deal with most urgently into the future.

My Department is leading on the national co-ordination of sectoral adaptation actions to ensure cross-cutting issues are identified and addressed. Across Government, 15 sectoral adaptation plans, SAPs, will be completed this year. These will set out the extensive adaptation actions and measures that will be actioned over the next few years and that the sectors will build into their long-terms plans. The risk assessment provides the necessary evidence base to inform and support this work.

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