David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter and allowing me to speak to it. The ice in the Antarctic and in Greenland is melting at an alarming rate, as was stated in a joint report published in Ireland last year by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Marine Institute. That report, in a finding similar to that of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, found that sea levels are, as a result, rising at a startling rate. It is really frightening. John Englander, a climatologist and oceanographer, wrote a book called Moving to Higher Ground, which I would recommend to anybody who is interested in this topic. It is truly frightening.

In my constituency, for example, Midleton, Youghal, Cobh and Shanagarry will be impacted, as will Waterford, Westport and Galway. This is going to happen; it cannot be stopped. I have read a lot about this issue. The sea levels are going to continue rising. We can talk about climate change, reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and so on, but that will not impact on this at all. The sea levels are going to continue to rise. The UK has established a flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy action plan and it is in place. The Dutch saw this coming - they would have, of course - and in 2008, they established a serious action plan.

As for what will happen when the sea continues to rise, the predictions are quite frightening. It is difficult to predict but scientists say that by the end of the century, sea levels could have risen by 1 m. We might not think that is a lot, but the impact that would have on our towns, cities and utilities would be very significant. When the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage launched the national coastal change management strategy steering group in 2020, he stated 2 million people in Ireland could be impacted, as well as all our major cities and utilities, and that cannot be stopped. We have to start planning for it now. We have to ask what we can do. For instance, can people who live in an area that might be flooded get insurance for their homes? Can property be insured in case that happens, which it will? What can we do? Will we put strategies in place to protect property or should we all, as John Englander suggested in his book, move to higher ground? There is no point waiting until the sea water is up to our knees and then saying we should have planned for this 20 years ago. Now is the time to put a plan in place with a series of actions and strategies to mitigate this. There is no point waiting until it is too late.

I am anxious that the national coastal change management strategy steering group would report soon in order that we can debate its recommendations in the House, analyse them and put in place an action plan, as is the case in the UK, the US and elsewhere. Even the US Department of Defense stated in 2016 that the country needed to start planning then, and it did so. Many parts of the world could disappear, including Florida and Bangladesh. Many cities throughout the world will be under threat, but we have to look after our own patch in Ireland. We should not confuse the reduction in greenhouse gases with the real challenge of dealing with increased flooding from the rising sea. They are different things. This is going to happen. The volume of ice melting at an alarming and increasing rate is really scary.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

The challenge posed by rising sea levels is clear and the practical implementation of measures to mitigate these risks, particularly for coastal communities, is critical, as the Deputy set out in clear and strong terms. I welcome the opportunity to bring some clarity on the matter. Climate change projections indicate flooding events are expected to become more frequent and severe in the future. This will have a considerable impact on flood risk in Ireland, particularly where our cities and most of our main towns are located, either on the coast or alongside our estuaries or rivers.

Following the review of national flood policy launched in 2018, the OPW flood risk management plans, which are a roadmap for flood risk management measures, will, in conjunction with flood risk schemes already constructed, provide protection to approximately 95% of properties assessed to be at significant risk of flood. Building on the flood risk management plan, the OPW has published a climate change sectoral adaptation plan for flood risk management 2019 to 2024, in line with the requirements of the national adaptation framework and the Climate Action Plan 2019. The sectoral plan, approved by the Government in October 2019, includes 21 actions, which are being implemented as part of the strategy, to meet the objectives of ongoing research and assessment, adapting our flood risk management practice across government to effectively manage the potential impacts of climate change on future flood risk.

To support the need for adaptation, the Government established the interdepartmental group on managing coastal change to scope out an approach for the development of a national co-ordinated and integrated strategy to manage the projected impact of coastal change. The interdepartmental group is jointly chaired by the Minister's Department and the OPW. It has met on three occasions to date and is also supported by a technical working group.

During 2021, to assist and support the work of the group, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the OPW also engaged in a series of bilateral meetings with relevant Departments and key stakeholders to discuss the emerging work of the group and to allow issues relating to coastal change management to be identified and explored in the context of the particular operations of the participating organisations. These meetings were useful in clarifying matters.

On the specific question the Deputy asked, the interdepartmental group is advancing the drafting and finalising of its report, which will be presented to Government for its consideration shortly.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for her response. She referenced "flood risk" more than once in her reply. A sea level rise does not recede. When it rises, it stays up. There is a difference between it and flood risk - floods which come and go. When the sea level rises, it stays up and does not recede. This is what we have to look at.

I invite the Minister of State to check out Climate Central. It has an interactive map that allows a person to enter in how much the sea level will rise and to see the impact it will have in that person's area. Anything in red will be under water. That part of our island that will be under water will not emerge again. It will be submerged forevermore.

Flood risk is a misnomer in some ways. I would prefer if we were talking about sea level rise. It will rise and it will not go back down because the ice melts. For the Ceann Comhairle's information, there are 200,000 glaciers shrinking in the world. Some of these are enormous; they are as big as Manhattan. If all the ice in Greenland and the Arctic were to melt, global sea levels would rise by 200 ft or 60 m higher than they are at present. Neither I, the Ceann Comhairle nor anyone here will see that, but our children or grandchildren will possibly be affected by this. It is serious, it is happening and there is no point in waiting until it is up to our knees or our oxters. We have to start planning for it now and to start talking about it now.

I very much want to see the interdepartmental group the Minister of State referred to publish its report fairly soon. The UK and other countries are way ahead of us on this. They have action plans. They have things happening right now to plan for this. We have to start doing it before it is too late. There is no point in having the Minister of State below in Waterford with the water coming in over her wellies and saying, like King Canute, that it will go out at some stage; it will not. It will come in and it will stay in.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I have listened carefully to Deputy Stanton's views. I again thank him for his valuable contribution.

One of the words the Deputy mentioned in the first contribution was "insurance". That is a valid point. I have worked closely with a family whose home has been flooded on three occasions over the past 20 years and, unfortunately, after the third claim, they were no longer able to secure any insurance. It is a real live issue.

The Government recognises the clear challenge posed by rising sea levels for the country as a whole and for coastal communities in particular. Climate change projections indicate that flooding events are expected to become more frequent and severe in the future. This will have a considerable impact on flood risk in Ireland, especially where our cities and most of our main towns are located either on the coast or alongside our estuaries or rivers.

This challenge will require a national co-ordinated and integrated strategy to manage the projected impact of coastal change on these communities. To that end, the Government has established the interdepartmental group on managing coastal change to scope out an approach for the development of such a strategy. Since its initial meeting in September 2020, the work of the steering group was progressed through a series of bilateral meetings, including, inter alia, the threats and effects of coastal change as they relate to the remit of the individual steering group members and the wider stakeholders.

The findings of the steering group are being finalised and these will be presented to Government for consideration shortly. It is envisaged these findings will provide a framework for key decisions to be taken by relevant stakeholders to best manage the Irish coastline in a manner that most effectively mitigates future risks. No doubt we will have a further conversation at that time. I again thank the Deputy.