Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 1397: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the evidence that exists for rising sea levels here; the locations where sea levels have risen; the effect this has had; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2269/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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At a global level, rising sea levels is one of the most serious concerns in relation to climate change and, as pointed out in Chapter 11 of the National Climate Change Strategy, it is already known that the Irish climate is experiencing changes consistent with those occurring at a global scale.

The 2007 Fourth Assessment Report from the InterGovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) points to the fact that global average sea-level rose by 1.8mm per year between 1961 and 2003. This rate has increased to 3.1mm per year between 1993 and 2003 but it is not clear if this faster rate represents a new norm or part of a long-term cycle. Total sea-level rise over the 20th Century is 0.17m, with thermal expansion and melting of land ice estimated to have contributed about half of the recently observed rise. Potential accelerated sea-level rise due to increased ice melt is a significant threat.

In a 2006 research project on the Implications of the EU Climate Protection Target for Ireland which was undertaken for the EPA, the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Unit at the Department of Geography, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, point out, inter alia, that "in Ireland, the impacts of sea level rise will be most apparent in the major coastal cities of Cork, Dublin, Galway and Limerick. Counties in the south-east will be most affected, having sandy and mud cliff coastlines. Other low-lying areas such as Louth and North Dublin may be affected as they have little or no protection. The major effects will be a loss of land due to inundation and increased erosion and increased risk of flooding both in the coast and along major rivers during storm surge events.".