asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he is aware that the sea is encroaching seriously on the coast at Clonea Strand, Dungarvan, County Waterford, and if he will have an inspector sent there to report what steps are necessary to check the erosion.

I have had no recent reports regarding the encroachment of the sea at Clonea Strand. I have no function in the matter of coast erosion apart from the power conferred by the Foreshore Act of 1933 to prohibit or restrict removals of beach material by any person. Orders under that Act prohibiting the removal of shingle or ballast from the area of foreshore, which includes Clonea Strand, are at present in force. An inter-departmental committee of inquiry into coast erosion which reported in 1931 were of opinion that the Government should not assume any general responsibility for the defence of the coast against erosion.