Flood defences for Clontarf in north Dublin, not expected to be built until 2033, must be fast-tracked following a deluge that saw the promenade entirely submerged on Thursday, local Independent TD Barry Heneghan has said.
Flood waters breached the sea wall at high tide on Thursday afternoon, covering the full 50m width of the seaside park, cycle path and car parks. They also spilt over into the roadway, reaching the perimeter of properties on the opposite side of the road.
Dublin City Council deployed sandbags and concrete barriers, which have to be manually installed and removed, and closed the cycle lane as a precaution.
The coastal suburb has been identified as one of the areas most at risk of flooding in the State. Following an “extreme tidal event” in February 2002, which devastated many homes and businesses in Clontarf, the council began planning for the construction of flood defences.
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“This is the worst flooding we’ve seen in more than 20 years,” Heneghan said. “These permanent flood defences have to be fast-tracked, but as an interim measure the wall beside the cycle path [next to the roadway] must be increased in height to protect people’s homes.”
Heneghan said he intends to meet council engineers, along with Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works Kevin “Boxer” Moran in the coming days. “I am optimistic that we can resolve this issue and not have to wait another seven years.”
The 2002 flood was the first significant tidal inundation experienced in the city since 1922. However, it was followed by another severe, though less extreme, tidal flood in 2004, with flooding along the Dublin Bay coastline increasing in frequency since.
The council secured planning permission from An Bord Pleanála in 2008 to build flood defences up to 2.75m (9ft) tall involving earthen embankments and walls at a cost of €4 million.
Following objections from residents, the council offered to reduce the height to 2.17m (7ft), the lowest height permitted by the planning body, but agreement was not reached on the lower height.
In late 2018, the council proposed new €10 million defence barriers up to 1.6m tall involving a dual-wall solution, with the main barrier at the sea and a secondary defence wall located along the footpath at Clontarf Road, However, concerns remained in relation to the heights.
Two years later, the council produced another dual-wall solution, which would be partially demountable. The demountable sections would be erected at times when the area was at risk of flooding.
In late 2021, the council said it hoped to lodge an application for the scheme with An Bord Pleanála by the middle of 2023. If the board granted permission at the start of 2024, the defences could be completed by 2027, it said.
However, last month the council said the “dual wall system was rejected by a number of local residents for different reasons” and “this put Dublin City Council back to the start”.
It now intends to appoint a consultant to design the project by the end of this year. It would then take a “minimum of three years” for the consultant to prepare an application for submission to An Comisiún Pleanála, which has replaced An Bord Pleanála.
If the commission granted permission within one year, and there was no legal challenge to that permission, work was “likely to commence around Q2 2031 after the brent geese have left for the summer. Construction would probably be over three summers, April to August, due to environmental constraints, [from] 2031-2033 if all goes well,” it said.
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