SANDYMOUNT FLOOD ALLEVIATION SCHEME

BACKGROUND

• Flood defences are the No 1 priority for SAMRA on behalf of the community.
• We have been lobbying consistently for the 6 years for the construction of such defences.
• In December 2024, Jacobs Engineering was appointed to design the Alleviation Scheme.
• The project is being led by Dublin City Council on behalf of the Office of Public Works, who are the National Competent Authority for the provision of flood defences.
• Funding is part of the Government's €1.3bn National Development Plan for flood relief measures.

SCOPE OF SCHEME

• The scheme will consider potential flooding from coastal, drainage and river/streams sources, to alleviate the risk of flooding to the community.
• It will be developed to provide a determined Standard of Protection (0.5% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP, 1 in 200 year).

CURRENT PROGRESS

• Public Open Day held in April 2025.
• Various engineering and environmental tasks are in progress (and will be ongoing throughout the design stage), including surveys, asset condition reporting, and sea level and wave action modelling to inform the design of the coastal protection scheme. 
• Engagement with property owners, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, An Taisce.
• Design development to second stage of Non-Statutory Public Consultation.

NEXT STEPS 

• 2nd Public Consultation - Emerging Coastal Options for defences along Strand Rd. - Q2 2026.
• 3rd Public Consultation - Preferred Option - Q4 2026.
• Planning Application to An Coimisuin Pleanala - Q3/Q4 2027.

GOVERNMENT ACCELERATING INFRASTRUCTURE POLICY

• This policy adopted in late 2025 is designed to accelerate the provision of infrastructure which SAMRA assumes will apply to this Flood Alleviation Scheme.
• The 4 key pillars of the Policy include 1) legal reforms to mitigate delays in statutory approvals for critical infrastructure, 2) statutory approvals reforms to accelerate approvals by the various agencies, 3) obligations on state agencies to coordinate various projects in a particular location and 4) concerted efforts to encourage public buy in to infrastructure projects. 
• SAMRA believes that all these pillars could provide very significant benefits to this project, particularly in terms of timeliness. 
• Legal and approvals reforms are designed to reduce the timeline of the overall Planning processes that will apply to this project. This should hasten the projected construction of the coastal works.
• The obligations on state agencies to coordinate various projects in a particular location should, in SAMRA's opinion, significantly support the call to include off road cycling infrastructure in this Alleviation Scheme, as SAMRA and others have campaigned for. A solution for the repeated foul sewer discharges to Sandymount Strand, such as an interceptor drain, should also be considered in the scope. This would require various state agencies such as the NTA and Uisce Eireann to engage with DCC and the OPW to deliver these co-location projects.
• SAMRA believes that public buy in to the project will be significantly enhanced by the provision of such additional projects, which will provide very significant community gains.