The Government must start preparing to relocate communities away from coasts that cannot be saved from erosion, repeat flooding and sea level rise, new research has concluded. <\/p>\n
A paper published by the Climate Change Advisory Council<\/a> said law must be written now to provide for \u201cmanaged retreat\u201d from coastal lands and money set aside to fund the costs. <\/p>\n \u201cThe issues of coastal erosion and landslides, and the need for managed retreat, is not only a concern for the distant future. It is an urgent crisis unfolding today,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n Almost 4,500 properties and 570km (354 miles) of road have been identified as being at risk of being lost to the sea over the next 25 years but that data comes from assessments by just eight local authorities. <\/p>\n The report, written by Eugene Farrell of University of Galway for the council, said there were \u201csignificant Ireland-wide knowledge or non-reporting issues of current and future impacts of erosion on coastal properties and infrastructure\u201d. <\/p>\n A National Coastal Change Management Strategy published in 2023 made 15 recommendations for managing coastal land loss, including development of a policy on managed retreat. <\/p>\n But the Department of Housing said yesterday managed retreat raised \u201ccomplex social, legal, financial, planning and community issues\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cA decision on the viability of managed retreat as an option in Ireland has not yet been reached,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Farrell said insufficient urgency was being shown.<\/p>\n [\u00a0Ireland must prepare \u2018evacuation\u2019 plans for coastal areas as climate change intensifies, says expertOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve known of the risks for 30 years. At what point in time are we going to make a governmentwide approach to manage these risks?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The report recommended that \u201cnatural hazard disclosures\u201d become mandatory when properties are bought and sold so that buyers transact in full knowledge of the risks. <\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people did not know they were buying in risk areas. I find that hard to digest,\u201d Farrell said. <\/p>\n It also recommended a fund for relocation and rebuilding be created, possibly through regular homeowner contributions, levies on insurance policies or some form of joint local authorities\u2019 fund invested to earn interest for future use. <\/p>\n