Former Dragons Den star Peter Casey seeking permission to retain breakwater

Former presidential candidate Peter Casey has applied to Donegal County Council for permission to retain a breakwater at his property in Inishowen.

The former RTE Dragons Den star had built the breakwater at his Carrowhugh, Greencastle residence in a bid to stop coastal erosion from damaging the property.

Mr Casey built the breakwater and slipway at his home in 2017, before applying for retention permission from Donegal County Council in October 2019.

The businessman was told by Donegal County Council in 2019 that the coastal defence structure disrupted the tidal flows in the area and was impacting ‘natural geomorphological processes and systems’. Council subsequently ordered Mr Casey to remove the breakwater he constructed on the shore of Lough Foyle.

The decision to build the breakwater at his home proved to be contentious for Mr Casey, as he initially claimed that Donegal County Council had no jurisdiction to intervene as the breakwater was built on Lough Foyle, which is owned by the Crown Estate.

The Derry-born businessman has not been in the public eye since failing in his bid to be elected to the Dail as a TD for Donegal in the 2020 General Election. Mr Casey received 1,142 first preference votes and was eliminated on the fourth count.