Prof Niamh Cahill of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, the Hamilton Institute and ICARUS has been awarded nearly €520,000 in funding by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a research project on rising sea levels and their impact on Ireland.
Prof Cahill received €519,880 for the project, Estimating and Projecting Population Exposure to Extreme Sea Levels in Ireland (PopEE), which aims to contribute to Ireland’s need for future sea-level and extreme sea-level projections and their interpretation.
Welcoming the funding, Prof Cahill said: "This award is a significant boost for our research on the impacts of extreme sea levels in Ireland. It will support us in developing new methods to better understand how communities may be affected by coastal hazards, now and in the future. I’m very grateful to the EPA for their support."
Rising seas increase the vulnerability of cities and associated infrastructure that line the Irish coast, bringing risk of flooding, coastal erosion, salinisation of surface and ground waters and degradation of coastal habitats.
In total, the EPA announced funding of €6.9 million for 11 new research projects to address key knowledge gaps and support the development of vital research capacity in Ireland. This brings to €21.4 million the total research funding announced by the EPA in 2025 to date.
Announcing the funding, Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment, said: “The increased scale of research funding being announced by the EPA in 2025 reflects the critical role that research and innovation play in addressing climate change, environmental pollution and biodiversity decline. This new EPA funding will help develop innovative solutions to support Ireland’s response to these challenges. Congratulations to the successful researchers and I look forward to hearing more about these exciting projects in the years ahead.”
The projects are designed to support innovation and the development and implementation of policies in Ireland, as well as developing transdisciplinary research capacity and talent in key areas to address climate and environmental challenges.
The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.