Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Reilly for raising this important issue. I am familiar with the case. As the Senator said, I visited Burrow Beach and Portrane on 21 February to view at first hand the impact that coastal erosion is having on the area. As I stated at the time, my office has surveyed and assessed the coastal erosion risk along the entire national coastline, as part of the Irish Coastal Protection Strategy Study, ICPSS. This information has been published and is available to all local authorities.

The study enables local authorities 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 of a structural and non-structural nature. My office supports and assists intervention management options which are economically justified on cost-benefit grounds and are environmentally sound.

Fingal County Council is working hard to identify viable solutions to the erosion problem at Portrane and I look forward to receiving proposals from the council in due course. The Office of Public Works, OPW, operates the minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme, under which applications for funding from local authorities are considered for measures costing 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 available for projects which meet the eligibility criteria, including a requirement that the proposed measures are cost beneficial.

Fingal County Council applied for and was approved funding of €57,800 under this scheme in 2012 to carry out a coastal erosion risk management study of Portrane to Rush which included Burrow Beach. The funding was drawn down in 2013 following completion of the study. Following the severe storms of winter 2013-14, funding of €200,000 was provided by the OPW to Fingal County Council under the Government decision on repair works to damaged coastal protection infrastructure which included projects at Burrow Beach.

Coastal erosion is a natural and ongoing process which takes place around the entire coastline. Coastal erosion may threaten human life, infrastructure such as roads and may undermine and cause damage to properties. However, it should be recognised that coastal erosion also has beneficial effects on the local environment, such as providing natural nourishment and a 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.

Local authorities may carry out coastal protection works using their own resources. If necessary, they may also put forward proposals to the relevant central Departments for funding of appropriate measures depending on the infrastructure or assets under threat. As intervention within a coastal 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 which has carefully investigated the problem and explored the full range of management options. The OPW has published guidelines for coastal erosion risk management measures and funding applications under the minor works scheme are available. I assure the Senator that the OPW will continue to work with Fingal County Council to address coastal erosion issues in the county over coming years, having regard to availability of resources and in the context of the framework for State investment in this area that I have outlined.