OPW chair warns communities may have to be ‘abandoned’ due to climate change flooding

Maurice Buckley said ‘horrendous’ truth was that not all populated coastal areas could be protected in event of sea-level rises

Maurice Buckley, OPW chairman: ‘If you stop to think about it, so many of our communities and our big cities are built along the coast. And not just communities, but infrastructure like rail lines and roads and so on. So this is absolutely huge.’ Picture: Bryan Meade

It may not be possible to protect every community from the effects of climate change-related flooding, and some “may have to be abandoned” or relocated, according to the chairman of the Office of Public Works.

Maurice Buckley also told the Business Post that if work on flood relief schemes was not accelerated, it was “inevitable” lives would be lost in the future.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) is responsible for the flood relief schemes, ...