The climate crisis just became more personal for US President Donald Trump, after authorities in Ireland rejected an attempt by his Doonbeg golf resort to build a wall to combat rising sea levels.
Planning agency An Bord Pleanala on Wednesday said that the proposed 38,000-tonne rock barrier at Doughmore Bay could damage dunes that straddle the golf course in County Clare, on the Atlantic coast.
Trump International Golf Links Ireland Enterprises, which is owned by the US president’s family, wanted to build the barriers to protect fairways from exceptionally heavy storms and rising sea levels — evidence of a changing climate.
Photo: Reuters
In 2017, the Clare County Council approved a plan for two barriers — 630m and 260m long — after rejecting plans for a much larger 28km wall.
However, An Bord Pleanala has overruled the scaled-down proposal, putting a question mark over the resort’s long-term future.
“The board is not satisfied that the proposed development would not result in adverse effects on the physical structure, functionality and sediment supply of dune habitat within the Carrowmore Dunes special area of conservation,” it said.
The decision was a victory for veteran litigant Peter Sweetman, Friends of the Irish Environment and other environmental groups that have campaigned against sea barriers in Doonbeg, citing the effects on the landscape, flora and fauna in a conservation area.
Many residents and politicians favored the barriers, saying that flood defenses would protect not just the golf course, but also farms and jobs.
The resort employs 300 people.
“I’m very disappointed, and more than a little angry,” Fianna Fail councilor Cillian Murphy said on Twitter. “I know there are environmental concerns, but there must be a solution that protects the development and the dunes.”
The decision raises doubts over whether the resort would go ahead with a planned 40 million euros (US$43.5 million) expansion, including a new ballroom, leisure facilities and more vacation homes.
Trump has often spoken of his love of the resort — and has not hidden his frustration at planning constraints.
When environmental objections blocked a previous attempt to build new facilities, he called it “a very unpleasant experience.”
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