Killiney Strand, one of Dublin's premier public amenities, is in danger of being destroyed by major works to protect the DART line, according to a local Labour councillor.
Ms Jane Dillon-Byrne said she would be tabling an emergency motion at a meeting of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council this evening calling for a halt to the works "until a more environmentally-sensitive scheme can be agreed".
She said she was as concerned as anyone to safeguard the DART line from coastal erosion, but the use of thousands of tonnes of rock armouring to reinforce the railway embankment would destroy the strand.
"What we now know as a walking area and a swimming area, extending all the way from the tea rooms to White Rock, would become a no-go area as a result of this cheap, quick job," she said. This was not acceptable in a designated high-amenity area.
Throughout the weekend, contractors for Iarnrod Eireann were using four earthmovers and four JCBs to build a breakwater of an estimated 15,000 tonnes of rock armouring, much of which was being landed at the beach in barges.
On Friday the site was visited by two county council inspectors who said they would report on whether the works required planning permission. Today an inspector from the Department of the Marine is expected to visit the site.
The Iarnrod Eireann spokesman, Mr Barry Kenny, said there had been several minor breaches of the DART embankment over the past year or so.
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the Department of the Marine had been consulted in advance, and the works had their agreement and support. A foreshore licence or planning permission was not required, he said.
Mr Peter Evans, an architect and local resident, said the scale of the current works meant they would be irreversible, "whatever Iarnrod Eireann may say".
The Grand Canal Dock DART station is due to open this morning at Barrow Street in Dublin. Located between Pearse Station and Lansdowne Road, the station cost £3 million, according to Iarnrod Eireann.
