Trump wins at least one wall battle - in Ireland

Dublin - The Trump family’s plan to build a sea wall aimed at protecting their Irish golf resort was approved, the latest twist in a project that had stoked tensions in a tiny village on the Atlantic coast.

Local authorities gave the go-ahead for TIGL Ireland Enterprises to construct defences beside a public beach at its golf resort in the village of Doonbeg on the west coast of Ireland, Clare County Council said on Thursday. Objectors may appeal the decision within a month.

The plan is a scaled down version of a larger wall that the company had originally sought to build to protect the resort from storms sweeping in from the Atlantic Ocean. That plan stirred protests from environmentalists before it was withdrawn last year.

The new plan has received support from locals, but faces objections from surfing groups and others including Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan.

President Donald Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald jnr, are among the directors of TIGL Ireland Enterprises,  according to company records.

Trump and his daughter Ivanka resigned from the company on January 19, the day before his inauguration.

The approval came with a number of conditions, and a $284 500 “special development contribution” must be paid to Clare county council. The Trumps must hire ecologists to oversee construction at the site, while public access to the beach should not be obstructed in any way, the council said.

The developer must also hire an archaeologist to monitor construction work on the site.

Trump Hotels bought the 162ha property in 2014 after a US hedge fund placed it into receivership. The resort is among the biggest employers in the area, and a number of local people and interest groups backed the wall.

Still, in an echo of the battles Trump has fought in Scotland, environmentalists fought back.

The new works would not be visible, being covered by sand and a cobble bank which backs the beach, Trump International Golf Links and Hotel, Doonbeg, said last year.

Doonbeg is suffering erosion at a rate of one metre a year, while in a “bad storm” it can lose 10m, Michael O’Sullivan, responsible for coastal protection at the Doonbeg resort said at the time.