Holiday resorts try to hold back the tide

The Wexford coastline is slowly disappearing into the Irish Sea. There is virtually nothing that can be done about it and things are likely to get worse before they get better as climate change raises sea levels and produces more powerful storms.

"We are losing an average of one metre a year," stated Mr Daragh Cullinan, environment engineer with Wexford County Council. It has been going on for generations but people notice it more now. We are just more concerned about it over the last 20 years because of higher property values. We have such a soft coastline. It is soft from end to end, there is very little protection for it. It just washes away the material out to sea."

Coastal erosion in Wexford is nothing new and indeed is commonplace right along the eastern seaboard. Much of the coast is made up of "boulder clay" the mix of loose rock and soil deposited by the glaciers at the end of the last ice age 15,000 years ago. There are concerns however that the process will be accelerated due to rising sea levels and increased storm frequency caused by global warming.

There are measures that can be taken such as rock armouring - using large rocks to consolidate dunes, or "beach nourishment" - pumping sand back onto beaches. All, however, are "very expensive" Mr Cullinan said. Armouring can cost £300 per linear foot.

An effort is made however. This year the council will spend £60,000 at Courtown and £100,000 at Blackwater Head. The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, announced an increase in State funding for this activity from £1m to £5m. "We could spend £15m to £20m in Wexford alone," Mr Cullinan added.

"It is called managed retreat until such time as infrastructure is threatened," such as roads or important buildings. Then attempts are made to slow or stop the sea's advance. There are also planning controls such as limits to building within 100 metres of coasts subject to erosion.

There are no grand plans to hold back the advance however, largely because it is pointless in most cases and too expensive. "We are not making any plans to combat it," he said. Planning too far in advance for conditions that have yet to arrive is also difficult.

"When you look at the funding we have, if you look at something that will happen well into the future, it is just not practical."