Debate contribution: Coastal Erosion
Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on .
- MLA
- Mr Andrew Muir
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 20 April 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Coastal Erosion
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5493371
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Mr Speaker, with your permission, I will group questions 3 and 12. Since becoming Minister, I have had regular engagement on coastal management issues, including meetings with stakeholders, briefings from my officials and discussions with the Minister for Infrastructure. The coastal forum is a collaborative partnership involving local councils, the National Trust, my Department and the Department for Infrastructure, supported by an effective working group that continues to deliver the agreed work programme. Key achievements include a £2·5 million investment by my Department in coastal evidence gathering, resulting in complete coverage of the coastline. Building on that collaboration, partners have also secured €9·6 million from the PEACE PLUS programme for the coastal monitoring and adaptation planning project. As witnessed again this winter, coastal communities and infrastructure are already experiencing the impacts of climate change. Those impacts underline the urgent need for action that is set out in the third Northern Ireland climate change adaptation programme (NICCAP), which was published last month. The programme includes actions on coastal resilience that take account of the Climate Change Committee's (CCC) recommendation that the Executive consider introducing legislation on coastal change and the designation of responsibility to a Department. The climate change adaptation programme also outlines the role that nature-based solutions can perform in coastal areas, where blue carbon habitats such as salt marsh, seagrass, kelp forests and mussel beds not only store carbon but improve coastal resilience by reducing wave energy and help to limit erosion and storm impacts. More broadly, actions to restore peatlands, woodlands, grasslands and healthy soils reduce flood risk by slowing and storing water, while nature-based solutions in urban areas, such as sustainable drainage systems and urban greening, help to manage surface water and reduce heat impacts.
288 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.77).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.77 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 1.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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