2026-02-25

I want to speak to the Taoiseach about coastal erosion, which is an extremely pressing and urgent issue for coastal communities right across Ireland. It is estimated in recent reports that up to 20% of the coastline of Ireland is at risk. This is a particular problem in the south east due to the composition of the lands, which are sand and clay-based. Some areas in the south east are losing up to 8 m to 10 m from their coast each year. It is estimated that, in Wexford alone, over 1,400 houses are at risk, and in Ireland, it is estimated that almost 100,000 people's homes are in danger from coastal erosion. The severity of recent storms, the increased frequency of these storms and the rising sea level due to climate change are the main factors involved. I have been inundated with calls and visits to my office from constituents along the entire coastal length of my constituency. This was ongoing well before Storm Chandra, but it has multiplied since that storm. People are in genuine fear of losing their homes and land. In County Wicklow, Arklow has regularly seen significant damage due to intense storms. Areas such as Clogh and as far up as Brittas Bay are facing significant loss and damage to their coastal defences. This is having a huge impact, not only on the land and housing, but also on beloved community amenities. We must also look at Irish Rail. There is a stretch from Dublin to Wicklow town that is under severe threat due to coastal erosion. This line faces significant and ongoing risks that threaten the stability of the infrastructure. I am aware that the East Coast Railway Infrastructure Protection Projects are conducting a comprehensive study, but continuous disruption or any long-term closure due to erosion on this line will close the clinical link between Rosslare and Dublin, isolating communities and towns, such as Gorey, Arklow and Rathdrum and putting even further pressure on an already overcapacity motorway. I note and commend the investment in coastal erosion, but I am here today to point out that this problem is increasing due to climate change, increasing sea levels and the frequency of storms. This is simply not going away. Houses that have been in families for generations are now on the verge of dropping into the sea, farmers are losing land and we are losing walkways along our coastline. I call for a comprehensive approach to tackling this and for significant further investment in this area. I have met people face-to-face in my office. I have seen grown men and grown women cry. They are literally playing out a horror movie. In front of them, the sea is eating into their land and their gardens. They literally have to take out their goods before a storm, go to another house and then come back the following morning to see if their house is still there. This should not be happening. It is going to increase. I ask the Taoiseach to treat this as a priority.

First, I thank the Deputy for raising what is the very important and pressing issue of coastal erosion across the country, but specifically in the south east. The Government is committed to progressing a co-ordinated, long-term approach to managing coastal change. I know there have been a variety of coastal works and funding at specific points, particularly in Wexford, in terms of the coastal protection scheme and minor flood mitigation, which is done by the OPW. As the Deputy knows, a report was published in 2023 by the interdepartmental group on the national coastal change management strategy. It establishes the strategic framework and identifies the priority actions required to underpin a national coastal change management strategy. To date, in essence, the OPW has allocated funding of about €650,000 for coastal protection works at Seaview, for example, including strengthening rock armour to counter ongoing erosion. Further moneys of about €300,000 were allocated before that, in 2024, making some €2 million overall in that area. The more fundamental point that the Deputy makes is the need for two things. I agree with him that climate change is causing this. We need a more co-ordinated structure. I had a meeting recently in the context of the recent storms. I raised this issue at the climate meeting on coastal erosion. I am not satisfied that we have the necessary infrastructure from a structural point of view in terms of decision-making within the Government. Many people were leaving it to the local authorities, but I think that if we leave it to the local authorities on a local authority-by-local authority basis, that may not be sustainable. Adaptation, including ring-fenced funding for adaptation, is critical. I will be examining this further in terms of a more centralised approach to coastal erosion that is far more proactive than what we have had to date. We know that, unfortunately, some local authorities are more proactive than others. There is inertia in others, and that is not sustainable, in my view. There has to be a far more direct approach from the centre to make sure that some of these works get done. To be fair, the OPW has done a lot of work, and I know the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, was in Donabate recently. It did exceptional work there on an interim basis to protect houses and households. This is coming quickly. It is a very rapidly evolving situation. If we look at the climate change projections, the seas are going to rise, so we need stronger coastal protection, and we need to do it on a systemic and structured basis, with agencies clearly in charge and directing operations.

I warmly welcome the Taoiseach’s suggestion of centralising this because it highlights the problem we are having. I do not want to be parochial, but if we just look at the Wexford coastline, 80% of the 260 km is under threat. That is a phenomenal figure. We are dealing with real people. In areas like Cahore and Glasscarrig, people are in genuine fear of losing their homes. I recently went down to Kilmichael and Castletown, which is a beautiful area. Some people there have lost 10 m off the front of their land. The next stop is that their houses are going to fall into the sea. Courtown was the beacon of the south east in the 1980s, but it now has little or no beach. It is not only the coastal erosion, but the effect this is having on business there as well. We have a serious issue. I warmly welcome the Taoiseach's intervention on this. We have to make progress on centralising this. It is a huge issue.

I thank the Deputy. The projections are there. There has been comprehensive surveying of the coastal area of the island. Climate change will have fairly significant negative impacts, particularly rising sea levels, but also the frequency and velocity of the storms we are witnessing on our coastlines, all of which creates a very challenging situation for us. We have to respond with proper structures and systems, and be far more proactive. We need a ring-fenced approach to the adaptation issue because climate change is here and now, and its impacts will increase over time. It will impact on food production systems. The extended rain season we have had now is already impacting on farming practice and what would ordinarily be happening right now. We are now facing another two days of intense rainfall. In front of our very eyes, food production systems and coastal areas are being challenged and we have to respond.