The risk of flooding for several large swathes of County Dublin and other coastal communities is a genuine environmental threat of which I know the Minister is acutely aware. I am sure he is also aware of the joint report on the status of Ireland's climate, which was produced in 2021, that shows sea levels have risen by 2 mm to 3 mm per year since the 1990s.

Will the Minister provide an update on the multiannual investment for flood relief schemes contained in the programme for Government? Will he support using such flood defences for the purpose of completing the coastal route of the Sutton to Sandycove cycle path, which he, I and others have long supported and campaigned for?

We should integrate coastal flood protection. We have met and discussed the particular example given by the Deputy at great length. It is a particularly sensitive habitat. It is an important special area of conservation. Dublin Bay eco biosphere is a United Nations-recognised important and sensitive site, therefore, it would not be done quickly. I believe we will have to do other measures in the interim while we go through the sensitive planning process. There is an opportunity, however, and not just in the Dublin Bay area. When we go further south, particularly along the coast from Bray to Greystones and further south to County Wicklow, there are huge issues of coastal erosion on the rail track and a huge requirement for coastal protection, which could be combined with greenways or other projects.