Trump’s Wall Around Doonbeg Golf Resort Will Destroy Irish Beach: Environmental Campaigners

President Donald Trump has got a green signal to build a wall – not on the border of the United States with Mexico but around The Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Doonbeg on Ireland's west coast.

Clare County Council in Ireland has officially permitted Trump to build the wall around the first, ninth and 18th holes of the golf course covering about 1968 feet at the south end and 820 feet at the north end of Doughmore Bay.

The wall is aimed at preventing the harsh winter storms from eroding the golf course, a plight that the surrounding beach has already gone through in the recent years.

"This decision demonstrates the council's commitment to support local business and protect the economic future of the region,” Joe Russell, general manager of Trump Doonbeg, said, Breaking News reported. “Trump Doonbeg will continue to engage with all stakeholders throughout the construction process."

However, green campaigners have said they will appeal against the decision of the council, which they said will be detrimental to the local ecology.

The director of Friends of the Irish Environment, Tony Lowes, said that the wall if constructed will have a huge impact on the shape of the beach which needs space to evolve.

"They interrupt the natural evolution of the beach. A sand dune system has to be allowed to move - the sand has to go in and go out. If you put a wall there, it's going to change it."

The beach has an estimated 700,000 tons of sand on it and an additional 500,000 tons comes in and out. The wall in question will be constructed at a distance of around 40 feet from the where the natural sand dunes presently end.

Building the wall would mean inserting metal sheet piles into the ground and laying limestone boulders on the base of the piles. The base materials of the wall will be invisible as it will be covered by sand and a cobble bank at the back of the beach.

Despite not being a big believer in climate change, Trump has listed global warming and rising sea levels as reasons for building the wall in his original application for the construction that he made last year.

The initial development plan was thwarted by the environmental group Save the Waves after it collected 100,000 signatures to hinder Trump’s mission. “You can’t ignore [the fact that] the owner in this case is so notorious but the concerns were there long before he bought the course,” Green party leader Eamon Ryan said, the Guardian reported.

In addition to building the wall, it is estimated that Trump will pay more than $3,00,000 to the council to cover the cost of adding or repairing roads and footpaths in the area and other public infrastructure.

He would also be required to hire an ecologist, who will oversee the work and be responsible for maintaining the structure.

The resort management will also have to closely watch the impact of the wall on beach users, the Carrowmore dune system and the plants and animals in the area.