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.
BACKGROUND The Forum was set up by Dublin City Council in December 2024. It is a forum for the mutual exchange of information between stakeholders associated with the Irish Glass Bottle site. (City Council, Area Committee, Area Office, Local Community, Local Residents, Developer, etc.) It provides a platform for local and stakeholder concerns to be discussed and resolved throughout all stages of the development. The Forum is chaired by Cllr Danny Byrne and attendees include representatives from Sean Moore Rd RA, the IGB Housing Action Group, SAMRA, the Developer, local Councillors and DCC Executives. 5 meetings have been held to date. TOPICS INCLUDE Compliance with the SDZ Planning Approval. Updates on Housing from DCC including Social and Affordable allocations. Updates from the Developer including progress to date and next stages. Community issues and concerns. The provision of Public Transport to the site including the Luas. The re-design of Sean Moore Rd. SOME SAMRA COMMENTS SAMRA has raised the issue of the integration of the development into the surrounding area. The Glass Bottle development will house ca 9,500 residents, on the doorstep of Irishtown, Ringsend and Sandymount, which combined have a population of ca 17,000. The commercial component of the development could employ somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people although it may be at the lower end of that range. The Developer is obliged to build the scheme in accordance with the Poolbeg SDZ Masterplan which was granted Planning Permission in 2019. As such, the extent of housing, commercial and associated services and facilities buildings, carparking and outdoor spaces has been pre-determined. As examples, there is provision for a site for a primary school, a health facility, and a pub. At this time, the Dept of Education have provided no indication as to when they will develop the school. SAMRA, supported by others, has requested that some form of study be carried out to establish if there are shortfalls in the development across social, economic, health, hospitality and other provisions, that might create both demand and opportunities in the surrounding areas. The study would also cover the community gains for the area from facilities to be provided within the development, such as the planned artist studio spaces. Dublin City Council are currently reviewing this request. SAMRA also requested clarity regarding the timeline for the provision of the Luas services to the development. The reply to the Chair of the Forum from the Minister for Transport on 1st Sept 2025 stated that the "development of a Luas red line extension to serve Poolbeg is currently one of the longer-term proposals in the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area, for delivery from 2037-2042. Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is the Sponsoring Agency for the proposed Luas to Poolbeg project and the NTA is the day-to-day Approving Authority". The Forum is currently challenging this timeline which is seen to be far too long.
EAST COAST RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION PROJECTS – MERRION TO DUN LAOUGHAIRE SECTION A project is in progress by Irish Rail to provide improved coastal protection against predicted climate change effects of sea level rises and coastal erosion on the east coast railway corridor between Merrion Gates and Wicklow Harbour. SAMRA attended an initial Public Consultation on this project at the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire on 12 th November 2024, with a particular interest in the section of the route from Merrion Gates to Dun Laoghaire. Along this route there are various design proposals to protect the rail line from flooding. One such proposal is the extension of the existing rock embankment, a so called rock armour, outside the rail line. Following review of these proposals, including a discussion with the design consultants, Jacob Engineering, SAMRA made a Submission to the Consultation suggesting that a walk and cycle way be incorporated into the scheme. THE SUTTON TO SANDYCOVE CYCLE AND WALK WAY PROMENADE -S2S Michael Collins, retired Architect from his own well known firm, instigated the S2S concept for a cycle lane along the Bay from Sutton to Sandycove back in the '90s, and it then became Government policy. The arc on the northside from Clontarf to Sutton is in place and Dublin Port are in the process of extending it through the Port to the Liffey. Their 3fm project to develop the south side of the Port is currently at Planning stage and allows for a cycle lane across the river as part of a new bridge that is proposed as part of the project. They then plan to extend it to the Sandymount seafront along the east side of the Glass Bottle site. SAMRA and the bulk of the Sandymount Community are advocating for the proposed cycle way along Strand Rd to be incorporated into the Sandymount enhanced flood defences project currently also being designed by Jacobs Engineering. As such, the addition of a cycle and walk way along the rail line as part of the Irish Rail flood defences project would then extend the S2S promenade to Dun Laoghaire, which along with the existing cycle and walk way to Sandycove, would complete the full S2S. In parallel with SAMRA's Submission to the initial Public Consultation on the rail line project, Michael Collins provided a well developed scheme for such a promenade, and made a Submission accordingly. Such a promenade could also accommodate Eirgrid's proposed installation of and 225 KVa cable from Carrickmines to Poolbeg. An S2S Group is now lobbying for his scheme making a strong case including that a three agency combined project not only makes huge sense, but is entirely in line with the recently published Accelerating Infrastructure Policy which calls for various State agencies to work with each other on local projects and seeks to encourage buy in. Such buy in would be significantly supported by the community gain that the rail line project would provide by including a coastline promenade in its scope. DUBLIN BAY, A DESIGNATED UNESCO BIOSPHERE Dublin Bay is an ecosystem that is home to many rare and important species of wildlife. In 2015 the Bay as a whole was designated a UNESCO Biosphere, and is the only capital city in the world with such a Biosphere on its doorstep. The designation reflects its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and is recognised as such by Dublin City Council. Bird wildlife includes Brent Geese, who winter there, and the Oystercatcher. Fish life includes the Harbour Seal and the Grey Seal. Empty Cockle shells are a very common feature in the beaches, and a pioneer plant is the Common Cordgrass. 32 species of green seaweeds have been recorded on the Bay mudflats. The rocky shorelines provide habitats for plants and animal communities. As described by the Irish Conservation a Wild Birds Regulations, the inter-tidal land portion of the South Bay is an area of 7.25 square kilometres. As such, it is larger than the Phoenix Park, the biggest enclosed park in Europe. This inter-tidal walkable portion of the Bay provides an incredible sand landscape with a vast horizon, a destination, a waterpark, an environmental sanctuary. As such Dublin Bay is a free gift of Nature and a wonderful amenity for its citizens and visiting tourists. SAMRA'S SUPPORT FOR PROMENADE PROPOSAL SAMRA fully and enthusiastically supports the S2S Group's call for a promenade with a cycle way extending our promenade from Merrion Gates all the way along the shoreline to Dun Laoghaire. We are joined in that support by the community groups of Booterstown and Trimleston, and are united with the communities of Blackrock, Monkstown and Dun Laoghaire in calling for such a promenade to be incorporated into the proposed Merrion Gates to Dun Laoghaire rail line enhanced flood defences project. We believe that the proposal presents a once in the lifetime opportunity to provide such a facility. What a fantastic amenity it would provide for Dublin and its tourist industry. It would hugely enhance the vistas and experience of Dublin Bay from the south side, which are currently relatively restricted to Sandymount and the Dun Laoghaire to Sandycove area. The gift of Nature that is the UNESCO Biosphere, as described above, would be dramatically displayed to citizens and tourists alike. The shoreline links to the villages of Blackrock and Monkstown, with their many attractions, would be opened up, access would be provided to many historic features along the coast, and it would provide a wonderful panoramic route for active travel for visitors all the way from Dun Laoghaire to Dublin City.
