To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs whether he will produce a coastal management strategy for Northern Ireland.

My Department already has a coastal management strategy for Northern Ireland. This was launched in June 2006 by the then Department of the Environment and is entitled “Towards an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Strategy for Northern Ireland 2006 – 2026”.

This Strategy sets out the long-term objectives for achieving sustainable coastal management, through improvements to existing management systems, the development of new management systems and identifying and dealing with potential areas of conflict.

With regards to future policy, both my Department and the Department for Infrastructure have agreed a series of policy workshops to explore future coastal policy options through a Coastal Forum which will enable climate change adaptation and increase resilience to coastal change. One workshop was held back in December 2021 and another is being arranged for November 2022.