Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady has renewed his urgent call for immediate action on coastal protection at the Murrough in Wicklow Town, warning that long-promised works are being pushed years into the future while the coastline continues to collapse at an alarming rate.
Speaking at last week’s meeting of the Public Accounts Committee, Deputy Brady questioned senior officials from the Department of Transport about the delivery of the East Coast Rail Infrastructure Protection Project, a major scheme intended to protect the Dublin–Rosslare rail line from coastal erosion along the Wicklow and Dublin coastline.
Deputy Brady said:
“I raised very serious concerns with the Department of Transport regarding the timeframe for the delivery of the East Coast Rail Infrastructure Protection Project. We were told that an Environmental Impact Assessment will not be completed until next year, and that construction is not expected to commence until 2029 at the earliest.
What is even more alarming is that there are no assurances that the section between Newcastle and Wicklow Town, the area suffering the most severe erosion, will be given any priority within that project.”
He continued:
“If we are told to wait until 2029, there simply may be nothing left to protect in Wicklow Town. The Murrough is disappearing before our eyes. Only last weekend, large additional sections of the coastline were washed away during the storm, highlighting just how vulnerable the area has become.
I stressed to the Department that this situation cannot be parked in a long-term project pipeline. It needs urgent assessment and emergency works to stabilise the coastline now, both to protect the Murrough as a valued public amenity, Special Area of Conservation and to safeguard the critical rail infrastructure that runs alongside it.”
Deputy Brady called on both the Department of Transport and the National Transport Authority (NTA) to treat the situation with the seriousness it demands:
“The Murrough must be given absolute priority and the urgency that the situation clearly necessitates. Coastal erosion here is not a theoretical risk, it’s happening in real time. The Government must step in, act meaningfully, and ensure that emergency protection works are fast-tracked before irreversible damage occurs.”
He concluded:
“Officials from the Department of Transport assured me that they will revert back to me as quickly as possible once their assessment is carried out. But the people of Wicklow deserve more than promises, they deserve action. I will continue to press this issue until firm commitments, funding, and a clear timetable are put in place to protect Wicklow’s coastline and rail infrastructure before it is too late.” Ends