Councillors from the North County have expressed concern about the level of coastal erosion in Rush.
At a meeting of the Balbriggan/Rush-Lusk/Swords Area Committee, Fine Gael councillor Eoghan Dockrell warned that homes were at risk.
Dockrell, councillor for the Rush-Lusk constituency, said he has met with homeowners who are concerned about losing their homes to coastal erosion.
The Fine Gael councillor said that the golf club in Rush was also suffering from worsening erosion in certain parts of the golf course.
“I appreciate that the council are working with the OPW to do as much as they can, the OPW said that no further assessment is required; I disagree with that.”
Dockrell said that a fresh assessment was needed.
He said that the south beach in Rush needs to have the rock armour relocated in advance of the winter storm season.
The Fine Gael councillor appreciated that not much could be done in the summer months as people were using the beach more frequently, but there is now a “tight window” to make sure the beach gets reinforced ahead of the winter storms.
“I appreciate that the council is doing as much as it can, but I’m asking that the OPW does what it can to stop the worsening erosion.”
Fellow Rush-Lusk councillor Corina Johnston said that she has received around 50 emails from local residents in Rush, who are expressing concern about the coastal erosion.
The Labour councillor noted that in 2020, Fingal County Council carried out a public consultation campaign among residents of Rush and Portrane and asked what can be done to protect the area from coastal erosion.
Among the recommendations were an 850-metre wall from the sailing club to the south beach and the council adapted the plan.
Six years later, the wall has not been built.
A winter storm hitting Balbriggan in 2025
Johnston said, “that plan was adapted way back in 2020; we are now six years on. Nobody could have predicted the severity and frequency of storms along the Fingal coastline. We’ve seen it in Portrane, and it is impacting homes in Rush.”
The Labour councillor said that Fingal County Council can submit emergency measures to the OPW, and said that the council is not using that option.
“There has been a lot of money spent on this plan; there were assessments carried out and proposals put forward. At this point in time, this plan needs to be progressed. I am quite concerned that there are no measures being taken at this time,” she said.
“We need to get this plan moving; this plan was adapted in 2020,” she told the meeting.
“It is important that we move forward and find a solution for the people of Rush.”
Independent councillor Cathal Boland said, “it is extremely important that we take action; the coastline is changing.”
Boland said there is a “question mark” about the work being done in Portane and it possibly having an effect on work in Rush.
Councillor Boland said that there is a possibility that water being displaced as a result of coastal works in Portane is ending up having an impact on Rush.
He said that a similar issue occurred when coastal protection works were carried out in Skerries.
“We’ve got to focus on preventative measures; we are currently in reactive measures in Portane,” he said.
“It is not acceptable to say ‘not today’. It is a now problem,” the Rush-Lusk councillor said.
Councillor Boland said he has received email correspondence from concerned local residents, who are concerned about the potential loss of the golf club if coastal erosion is not tackled.
“If the golf club goes, there will be an impact on the rest of the town. The structures around it are under enormous threat. If they go, then you are right onto Main Street. If we don’t take some kind of action to stop that from happening, we are being grossly negligent in our public duties.”
Independent councillor Tom O’Leary said that “we need to make a move” on the issue.
The Balbriggan councillor told the meeting “the tide is advance; no town is going to escape it.”
Councillor O’Leary said that pressure needs to be put on the OPW to resolve the issue.
Fingal County Council staff addressed the concerns of councillors at the meeting.
Áine Donlon Kavanagh, senior executive officer with Fingal County Council, said the issue is “multi-faceted and complex,” but it demands data, research and policy behind it.
“As this is a national issue, and we are a local authority, we will be guided by the OPW on this,” she told councillors, and said that Fingal County Council would be “guided” by the OPW’s advice.
She explained that Fingal County Council’s operations department is directly liaising with the OPW on the issue, and she encouraged any North County citizen who is concerned about coastal erosion to flag their concerns with the council, which in turn will inform the OPW.
“We are engaging with the OPW and will continue to engage with them” she said, and said that there is a mandate from the OPW to have local authroties report issues of coastal erosion to them.
Sinéad Murphy, director of operations with Fingal County Council, said that the position of the OPW has changed since the previous study was carried out in 2020.
She explained that the OPW’s new policy is “not acting in one location to the detriment of another.”
“We hear the concerns that are being raised, and we are happy to engage further with the OPW in that regard.”
Johnston said that the report, from July 2020, was “very comprehensive”, and questioned why there wasn’t a sense of urgency on it.
“It sounds to me like nothing is going to be done, that we are just going to sit and wait. We need to be seen to be doing something. There is a lot of taxpayers money being spent on this. I would appreciate if the report could be looked at again by the OPW.”
O’Leary concurred, said that “something needs to be done; if the report is there, and we are six years on, we need to deal with it in a comprehensive matter,” and encouraged members of the public to report their findings to the OPW.
Speaking to Northside People in October 2020, Johnston warned that homes in Portrane will be lost to coastal erosion if emergency interim measures are not put in place to protect them.
She said that local residents were “very angry” by the situation and feel “let down.”
Even further back, the Northside People ran comments from Fianna Fáil Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee in 2018 and former Fine Gael Minister James Reilly who said that coastal erosion is not being taken seriously by the government of the day.
Speaking at the time, then-Senator Reilly said “I am calling on Fingal County Council to take the required action now as an emergency measure to secure the homes at The Burrow.”
“However, we need immediate remedial action now. There are families under extreme stress here and they need Fingal County Council to act now to save their homes.”
Senator Clifford-Lee said, “there is a real risk now of many homes becoming flooded by the sea, and both residents and homeowners are incredibly frustrated with the authorities’ lack of urgency in dealing with the threat.”
“A solution must be found to save the properties in immediate danger in Portrane while a broader-term remedy is identified,” she said.
Nearly a decade later, the attitude from the government is largely the same.