I support the need for a tidal barrier and a navigation gate that can be closed as necessary to protect the city from tidal surge for generations. A tidal barrier can be built for less than a third of the cost of the Walls scheme protecting up to 16,000 additional homes in the dockland area. The Wall scheme doesn’t protect the Dockland area, Blackrock or Mahon. A tidal barrier allows for the protection of and development of the historic city and docklands together. A tidal barrier causes no disturbance to the current river landscape in the city or to the city economy during construction. The benefits of choosing a tidal barrier would start now, and would grow in time. A tidal barrier creates new economic opportunity for Cork protecting far more people and property than the OPW flood walls scheme. It removes the serious concerns relating to OPW flood walls that they would damage the city economy and tamper with groundwater causing serious structural damage to buildings in the city centre or that the city would flood regardless of the walls based on experience in other towns and cities in Ireland and worldwide.