Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 April 2026
503. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his plans to address the gaps in the way the economic, social and environmental consequences of extreme weather events are monitored as identified in the latest CCAC's Annual Review of Ireland's Climate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26219/26]
View answerThe World Meteorological Organization has confirmed that we have just experienced the eleven hottest years on record. The ICARUS Climate Research Centre has concluded that climate change made the floods experienced at the beginning of this year almost three times more likely to occur. More frequent and intense storms, rising sea levels and coastal change are just some of the impacts of our changing climate to which we must build resilience to in Ireland.
Government is committed to protecting Ireland’s present and future generations with a whole of government approach to Climate Adaptation underpinned by the National Adaptation Framework (NAF). The Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) is a statutory consultee on climate change adaptation policy, and I am grateful for it's advice in developing the NAF in 2024, and their advice to the Sectors during the development of Sectoral Adaptation Plans (SAPs) published in November last year.
The SAPs cover thirteen key sectors, under eight Departments, and contain measurable actions to improve the resilience of those sectors over the next five years, considering the impacts of climate change on our environment, economy, and society. These SAPs were developed under Guidelines published by my Department and were informed by the National Climate Change Risk Assessment (NCCRA) and standardised climate data from Met Éireann. Lead Departments and their Ministers are responsible for implementing the SAP(s) under their remit which will be funded from respective Departmental Votes.
To enhance high-level support for adaptation governance across Government, a new senior-level Adaptation Taskforce has been convened to monitor the overall delivery of actions and address cross-cutting issues and risk ownership in a holistic way. The Taskforce will also identify and address gaps in the delivery and ownership of adaptation measures. The Taskforce reports to the Climate Action Programme and Delivery Board which I chair.
As part of ongoing engagement between my officials and the CCAC, the CCAC has agreed to attend the next Adaptation Taskforce meeting to discuss their recommendations and progress with senior representatives from the SAP sectoral Departments.
