Brendan Ryan (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Canney. In November 2012, I spoke here on the same issue. I described the situation then as critical and severe. Since then, there have been promises of funding, work and solutions. Yet, all that has been done has been makeshift barriers paid for and constructed by locals in fear of their lives of being swept away.

During the past week, we have had high tides and easterly winds. Social media and online news sites show videos of waves crashing over Clontarf promenade and dramatic seascapes in Dublin Bay last week. What failed to get any attention was the further washing away of the dunes and remnants of the broken boardwalk on the Burrow beach in Portrane. Portrane is near here. It is a lovely part of Fingal, a picturesque part of the Dublin region. There are videos on Facebook showing live and in real time the power of the sea and how close it is getting to homes and businesses in Portrane. If the situation was critical and severe in 2012, it is nothing short of an emergency now.

In 2014, the OPW made funding available for works to protect dunes in the Burrow, Portrane. The then Minister of State, former Deputy Brian Hayes, visited the location to see the destruction of the dunes. I ask the Minister of State to come out next week, if possible. I would love him to see it first hand. It would be helpful to him in coming to some conclusions about it. I am outraged that Fingal County Council did not draw down the funding. Fingal County Council would refer to some confusion on it. I am seeking an urgent meeting with the council next week to discuss its role in finding a way forward.. The residents of the Burrow are annoyed at what they see as a total lack of interest in their plight on the part of the council and the Government.

I ask the Minister of State to take a direct role in protecting the community of the Burrow in Portrane. I want him to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and allocate a senior official to work with Fingal County Council to install urgent measures to deal with the worsening situation in Portrane. I know of no other community which is so close to being breached and washed away. We cannot continue to bang our heads against the brick walls of Government or local government to find a solution. We need direct action now. Funding must be found to deal with the situation. We have had studies, plans and strategies but no meaningful action.

Residents have filled one tonne bags with sand to provide a barrier. They toiled hard on many mornings to fill these bags, knowing these efforts would be in vain once a serious storm hit the beach and the high tides returned. Those bags have been rendered useless. They were breached last week. The sea has reclaimed dunes and land and there has been no help from the authorities. We need direct action by the Government, and we need it now.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Brendan Ryan for raising this important matter. Coastal erosion is a natural and ongoing process which takes place around the entire coastline. Coastal erosion may threaten human life and infrastructure, such as roads, and may undermine and cause damage to properties. However, it should be recognised that coastal erosion also has beneficial effects to the local environment, such as providing natural nourishment and supply of sediment to adjacent beaches. The primary objective of Government policy on coastal protection is to ensure that in areas identified as being at greatest risk of damage or loss of economic assets through coastal erosion or flooding, appropriate and sustainable measures are identified by local authorities to protect those assets and, where such measures are economically justified on cost-benefit grounds and compatible with all required environmental and other statutory requirements, they are implemented subject to the availability of resources.

The OPW has undertaken a national assessment of coastal erosion, including erosion rates, under the Irish Coastal Protection Strategy Study, ICPSS. The results of the study have been published on the OPW website. The study has surveyed and assessed the coastal erosion risk along the entire national coastline, and the information is available to all local authorities to enable them to develop appropriate plans and strategies for the sustainable management of the coastline in their counties including the identification, prioritisation and, subject to the availability of resources, the implementation of coastal protection works both of a structural and non-structural nature.

The local authority may carry out structural protection works using its own resources. If necessary it may also put forward proposals to the relevant Department for funding of appropriate measures depending on the infrastructure or assets under threat. Since intervention within a coastline area may cause problems further along the coast, any proposed intervention measures are best developed in conjunction with a formal coastal erosion risk management study that has carefully investigated the problem and explored the full range of management options.

Portrane was assessed under the Fingal East Meath flood risk assessment area study as a coastal area for further assessment. The detailed engineering analysis found that no properties were at risk from coastal or fluvial sources in this area for further assessment, AFA. Therefore, optional assessment was not undertaken as it is designated an AFA of low risk in the draft flood risk management plans.

The Office of Public Works operates a minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection schemed, under which applications for funding from local authorities are considered for up to €500,000 in each instance. Funding for coastal erosion risk management studies may also be applied for under this scheme. Funding of up to 90% of the cost is made available for projects which meet the eligible criteria.

Fingal County Council applied for and was approved funding of €57,800 under the scheme in 2012 to carry out a coastal erosion risk management study at Portrane to Rush which included Burrow beach. The funding was drawn down in 2013 following completion of the study.

Following the severe storms of the winter of 2013-14, total funding of €200,000 was provided by the OPW to Fingal County Council under the Government decision for repair works to coastal protection infrastructure, which included projects at Burrow beach. The OPW has published guidelines for coastal erosion risk management measures and funding applications under the minor works scheme available on the website.

I assure the Deputy that the OPW will continue to work with Fingal County Council to address coastal erosion issues in the county over the coming years having regard to the available resources and in the context of the framework for State investment in this area that I have outlined.

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Minister of State. You did well on time. I did not think you would get through it, but you did. Deputy Ryan, you have two minutes.

Brendan Ryan (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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I am absolutely dumbfounded to hear the Minister of State’s comments. I know the material has been provided. It simply is not the case that the area is of low risk and there is no home at risk. That is why it is important for the Minister of State to come out and have a look. I feel as if I am repeating myself from four years ago. The works previously carried out to safeguard the sand dunes on this coast line were done in good faith and with the best intentions but they were not long-term solutions. Comprehensive and possibly cross-departmental approaches are required to provide the best possible protection for this coastline. We need to ensure that all possible solutions are given consideration and that a long-term solution is put in place. A coastal erosion study was carried out, as the Minister of State indicated. Hard and soft engineering solutions were assessed but no meaningful action was taken and no progress has been made. In fact, it is worse than no progress as it seems things have gone backwards. The clock is ticking and the tide is moving in.

I do not know anyone from Burrow who has any faith left in the institutions of the State to protect their homes. The people of Portrane are not only concerned; they are at breaking point. The have witnessed the ongoing erosion of their coastline and can visibly see the dangers they face. They will be appalled at the reply the Minister of State has read out. They do not want their concerns to be dismissed on the basis of negative cost-benefit ratio analysis. The council says that no money has been forthcoming at national level to fund solutions.

I walked Laytown beach lately and could see robust rock-based protective measures in place to deal with what was obviously a similar problem. Therefore, it can be done. Most of us look at weather forecasts to decide which coat to wear or check the times of high tide to go fishing. However, the community in the Burrow, Portrane check these forecast to see if they will have a home the following day, contrary to what the report of the Minster of State claims. Are we going to wait until we are dealing with homes disappearing into the sea before we address this issue? Are we going to allow the situation to develop to a point of catastrophic emergency? I hope not. I hope there is no policy of managed retreat at play. This is a serious matter and it needs urgent attention. This matter must be addressed with the urgency it deserves.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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The reply I have given is factual. The studies were done and money was provided. I suggest that because the local authority and the Office of Public Works are involved in this area, I ask that the local authority meet the officials of my Department to see what projects can be done. While it is okay to suggest spending money, I note we simply cannot spend money willy-nilly when a study is done and the cost-benefit analysis is not proven.

Brendan Ryan (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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Is it okay to see a whole community washed away?

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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Let me finish. If a cost benefit can be met and if properties are at risk, that is part of the analysis. My experience thus far within the Department is that if a project is brought forward by the local authority and if it meets the criteria then it will get funding.