Council secures funding for emergency works at Portrane

Funding has been secured for the installation of a Rock Armour Revetment at Burrow Beach, Portrane, to prevent further erosion of this section of coastline which is threatening homes in the area.

The Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien TD, and the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Kevin Boxer Moran TD, announced today that €622,703 in funding will be provided by the Office of Public Works towards the €700,000 cost of the emergency works.

Meanwhile, a long-term solution for the protection of the coast at The Burrow will move a step closer on Wednesday when Fingal County Council submits the Burrow Coastal Flooding and Erosion Risk Management Plan (CFERM) to An Coimisiún Pleanála for approval. The CFERM plan has already been the subject of a significant level of analysis and local consultation, and the Council has already received approval for the plan from the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA). 

The two ministers were joined by the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tom O’Leary, local councillors, the Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, and officials from both the Council and the OPW when they visited Portrane this afternoon to view last week’s damage to the coastline from Storm Chandra and announce the emergency works funding.

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tom O’Leary, said: “I am delighted that the Ministers have agreed to provide  funding through the OPW towards the €700,000 cost of emergency works at the Burrow. This will hopefully provide further protection for the homes that are under threat until the permanent solution can be constructed.”

The Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien TD, said: “It is a really significant announcement. It’s about €700,000 of works between Fingal County Council and the OPW to put permanent rock armour here to protect the homes that are most at risk here in the Burrow. These intermediate works will take place in advance of the permanent works where Fingal are submitting an application to An Coimisiún Pleanála for the permanent measures which are the sea groynes that are going in here in Portrane and will bring about a permanent solution to the coastal erosion threat.” 

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Kevin Boxer Moran TD, added: “There’s eight homes affected here along 300m of coastline so rock armour is going in here to create a wall and that is going to protect those people.”

The decision to proceed with the emergency works follows consultation between Fingal County Council, the OPW and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with specialist advice from the Council's consultants Tetra Tech RPS.

Approximately 300 metres of coastline at the southern end of The Burrow Beach has been identified as the most vulnerable section of the coastline on the peninsula and the rock armour will be installed here. 

The Council previously installed 1km of concrete SeaBees which have significantly slowed down the rate of erosion, but recent storms have shown the need for additional measures to protect vulnerable homes.

If the Council receives approval from An Coimisiún Pleanála for the CFERM Plan it will apply for funding from the OPW and proceed to procurement of the works. The project, which will include the construction of seven 70m long sea-facing fishtail groynes along a 1.3km stretch of coastline, is expected to cost up to €30 million. The Council will brief the Fingal Coastal Liaison Group tomorrow on its application to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, said: “We are working very closely with the OPW to provide solutions to the coastal erosion issues at Portrane. This week’s lodgement of the application for a permanent solution represents the culmination of several years of work by our own staff, our consultants, the OPW, local councillors and the Fingal Coastal Liaison Group. Once we receive approval from An Coimisiún Pleanála we will move quickly to secure funding and commence construction of a coastal protection scheme that will be the first of its kind in Ireland.”