Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 129: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the implications for Ireland of recent reports that the Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier on the east coast of Greenland is melting at a dramatic rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5243/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Among the more significant impacts of climate change on Ireland will be a predicted rise in sea levels associated with thermal expansion as the oceans warm and the melting of ice caps and glaciers such as the Kangerdlugssuaq glacier in Greenland. A 2003 study, Climate Change Scenarios and Impacts for Ireland, conducted by NUI Maynooth under the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Research Technological Development and Innovation Programme 2000-2006, comprehensively addresses the likely impact of predicted sea level rise on Ireland. A half metre rise in sea levels by the end of this century is envisaged by the study. This will increase coastal erosion, inundation risk and the return frequency of extreme water levels. According to the NUI Maynooth study, approximately 300 sq. km. of land will be at risk of inundation.

While the study concludes that the effects of sea level rise on the coastline may not be felt as severely in Ireland as in some other countries in Europe, it does point to vulnerabilities in low lying coastal locations, coastlines made up of soft or easily eroded material and coastal flood plains. The vulnerability of infrastructure to damage caused by inundation is highlighted particularly in the larger urban settlements of Dublin, Limerick, Cork and Galway.

My Department and the Environmental Protection Agency are working closely with relevant State agencies further to refine our knowledge of the likely impacts of climate change. This work will inform policy on how best to prepare for the adverse impacts of climate change, including sea level rise.