TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny called for a compromise in the row over the proposed embankment in Clontarf, in north Dublin.

“It is visually appealing for people to be able to see the bay and the sea and to have a polder or levy of that scale would cause people to feely rightly aggrieved,” he added.

Replying to Independent TD Finian McGrath, Mr Kenny said there was a problem in that planning permission had been issued by Dublin City Council. “The question is what can be done about it,” he added. “As the deputy is aware, there are some other suspicions about the real nature of the reason for a mound of that scale in the first instance.”

Mr McGrath urged the Taoiseach to tell the authorities to come up with a new and reasonable flooding plan while protecting the amenity.

Mr Kenny said a compromise might be reached whereby people could still see the bay while their houses could be protected. “The problem for those of us who have been elected to this House is that permission has been granted for a barrier of the scale in question.”