‘€500,000 a year needed to save sea wall’

AT LEAST €500,000 a year is needed if Youghal’s 19th-century sea wall on the Front Strand area is to survive.

That’s the message councillors will be conveying to the Department of the Marine in the hope that additional funding will be forthcoming.

Over the past two years about 100 metres of the sea wall and promenade were renewed, but councillors are warning that an extensive part of the remainder of the wall is “life expired” and in very real danger of succumbing to the elements.

Calling on the department to come up with emergency funding, Cllr Liam Burke said that immediately behind the sea wall are a public car park, a public road, and a line of Victorian villas that are protected structures.

“All these valuable assets are at risk.”

He said that while the work carried out has been very welcome, it needs to be continued on a yearly basis until it is replaced as far out as Claycastle.

Cllr Burke said it is bitterly disappointing to learn that no funding is available, adding that “this Government has failed Youghal on coastal protection”.

Cllr Ollie Casey said it is vital restoration work is continued until the entire stretch of wall and promenade have been restored.

Cllr Barbara Murray said that at the last count the cost of completing the entire wall stood at €12 million, but what it now is she didn’t know.

“Youghal is top of Cork County Council’s coastal protection priority programme”, said Cllr. Murray, “but because of a miserable national allocation of €7.9m from the Government in the current year there’s no money for Youghal in 2006.”

The town clerk, Liam Ryan, said the council can proceed with the next stage of the work the moment funding becomes available.

“If there are local authorities who fail to meet deadline dates for spending their allocations in the current years Youghal will be more than happy to step and accept them.”