‘We can’t protect the whole coastline’ - Wexford council plugging the dam as erosion continues to eat away the county

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

While works to protect one section of Co Wexford’s coastline are ongoing and plans are in place to protect one, potentially two, other areas, there is a sense that those entrusted with planning these projects are like the boy plugging the dam, desperately trying to save one community while leaks spring in others.

At the monthly meeting of the Rosslare Municipal District (RMD) environmental engineer Rory O’Mahony detailed the extent of the problem in this part of the county. Confirming that coastal protection works were nearing completion in Seaview, he said a draft report on the problems in neighbouring Ballyhealy had been submitted by consultants and, in addition, the €600,000 project in Rosslare Strand was due to commence in the coming months.

However, while Mr O’Mahony had been working on those schemes, issues had arisen elsewhere along the coast.

“Can we carry out a cost-benefit analysis for Nemestown, on the stretch of coast there which is eroding?” asked Councillor Ger Carthy referring to a process utilised by the Office of Public Works (OPW) to evaluate whether the benefits of a project outweigh the associated costs.

He received support from Cllr Aoife Rose O’Brien who said Nemestown, which is located between Seaview and Kilmore Quay, was “being forgotten” while other areas were addressed.

“The residents of that area have been shouting and screaming about coastal erosion for years and years,” she said. “I don’t understand why we install protection works in adjoining areas and not Nemestown.

“I can’t accept this - we need to address this as one issue, it’s not going to solve anything if we do small sections separately. Can someone explain the thinking behind this? We need to make sure the entire coastline is addressed.”

However, the notion that this entire stretch of coastline could be protected as part of one wide scale project was quickly dismissed by Mr O’Mahony.

“We look at it on a case-by-case basis,” he said. “The cost-benefit analysis has to stack up then. We can’t protect the whole coastline so we look at specific locations, I will bring the issues at Nemestown back to the team to have a look at. But I can’t see us undertaking a project to protect the whole coastline.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Lisa McDonald issued a word of warning regarding the works in Rosslare Strand, works which have received funding from the OPW.

“Those works better be done by September, I’ve told people down there they will be done,” she said. “If we have to take people from our special projects team and put them into environment we should do that.

“This is serious work which will protect the homes of those in Rosslare Strand and improve their safety.”

In late March, Minister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran announced €600,000 in funding for coastal protection works in Rosslare Strand, saying, “I know the level of vulnerability, I know what is at stake in terms of the (Kelly’s) hotel and I know the suffering that people are enduring but I can assure (you) that in the next few weeks we will see action on the ground.”