AQW 4375/22-27

Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 10/10/2022
Answered On Date: 25/10/2022
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure what work his Department is doing, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, to address coastal erosion.

Answer:

The Coastal Forum meets 1-2 times per year and brings together relevant government Departments, local Councils with a coastline and other interested parties to discuss coastal change issues in the North and seeks to adopt a more strategic approach to managing those issues.

A joint DfI / DAERA Coastal Forum Working Group has also been created to support the work of the Coastal Forum and progress actions to improve coastal management.

DAERA has invested over £1.5M on evidence gathering with the primary aim of acquiring a baseline dataset for the coastline.

DfI, DAERA and Irish Government Departments are seeking to secure funding under Investment Area 5.2 of PEACE PLUS programme which the Departments expect to enable a cross border approach to the protection of the marine and coastal environment.