Eir blamed as €15.8m Chapel Road scheme stalls, with Wicklow County Council still unable to give completion date

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

Traffic disruption is nothing new in a growing town like Greystones, Co Wicklow, but the ongoing saga of the Chapel Road upgrade in Delgany has pushed public patience to its limit. What began as a four month pedestrian and cycling improvement scheme has stretched toward a full year, with no firm completion date and no clear sense of when the disruption will end.

The delays have become a daily talking point in the community, a political flashpoint in council meetings, and a source of mounting tension between Wicklow County Council and the utility companies whose work is essential to finishing the project.

At the latest full meeting of Wicklow County Council, the depth of public frustration was laid bare. Greystones Cathaoirleach Cllr Lourda Scott, speaking with evident exasperation, described the “traffic chaos” that has engulfed Greystones as a direct result of the stalled works.

She reminded officials that the project had originally been expected to finish last August, before being pushed to September, and now appears unlikely to be completed even by the end of the year.

“If it’s finished at the end of the year we’ll be happy at this point,” she said, adding that residents stop her “every time” she walks through the community to ask what is happening. The perception that “very little” work is taking place on site has only intensified the anger.

Cllr Scott pressed officials for clarity on the utilities issue that has been repeatedly cited as the cause of the delays. She asked whether the problem had finally been resolved, what exactly caused the hold‑up, and whether the request for undergrounding had been submitted late.

She also sought assurances that lessons would be learned before the next major project in the area, the Killincarrig scheme, which has nearly half a million euro ring fenced and also involves underground cables. With Killincarrig already pushed back because of Chapel Road, she warned that the district cannot afford a repeat of the same mistakes. She also questioned whether a stop‑go system could be introduced to ease the pressure on residents forced through lengthy diversions, noting that the disruption has become intolerable.

In response, director of services Joe Lane offered only a brief and carefully worded explanation. He confirmed that two utilities were involved, not just one, and insisted that the delays were “not due to delayed requests by the local authority”.

He declined to elaborate on what he described as “contractual issues regarding requesting stop and go from the contractors,” saying only that he would not go into those details at the moment. Most significantly, he admitted that the council still cannot provide a completion date: “Until that second utility gets there we can’t give you a date.”

Although Mr. Lane did not name the utilities, the broader context makes the situation clear. The €15.8 million Chapel Road Pedestrian and Cycle Infrastructure Improvement Scheme, designed to link Delgany and Blacklion with safer walking and cycling routes, has been beset by utility related delays for months. While ESB has completed most of its required work, Eir has been the primary source of the ongoing holdup.

The issue has become so serious that the chief executive of Wicklow County Council Emer O’ Gorman has written directly to Eir in an effort to expedite the works, but no response had been received at the time of the meeting. This revelation has only deepened councillors’ frustration, particularly given that the council had already paid Eir in advance for their portion of the works.

Chapel Road, Delgany, near Littlebrook estate.

The matter was raised again at a meeting of the Transportation, Infrastructure Development and Emergency Services Strategic Policy Committee on May 25, where councillors Stephen Stokes and Joe Behan highlighted the impact on local residents and businesses. Cllr Stokes, who chairs the committee, said the delays had caused significant disruption and that people deserved answers.

During the meeting, it emerged that ESB had been considerably more responsive in recent weeks and had completed most of the required cable relocation work. However, serious concerns remained regarding Eir’s lack of progress.

Following the meeting, Cllr Stokes and Cllr Behan visited the Chapel Road site to assess the situation first‑hand. There, they were told that a breakthrough may finally be close. An Eir representative indicated that most of the outstanding works could be completed within two weeks, including copper wiring upgrades and the switch to a new network. Defunct telephone poles are also expected to be removed once the undergrounding is complete. Both councillors expressed cautious optimism, noting that residents and businesses have shown “enormous patience” despite the mounting frustration.

However, they also warned that the council’s projected September completion date may be overly ambitious. Based on what they heard on the ground, mid October appears more realistic. Even that depends entirely on Eir completing its remaining tasks without further delay, a condition that has not been met at any point so far. The councillors emphasised that the priority now is ensuring that the remaining utility works are completed quickly so that the contractor can proceed at full pace.

The ripple effects of the Chapel Road delays are now being felt across the district. The Killincarrig works, which require significant traffic flow alterations, cannot begin until Chapel Road is finished. During the latest district meeting on May 26, the outgoing district engineer Graham Cullen confirmed that the two projects are linked: the traffic management changes needed for Killincarrig cannot be introduced while Chapel Road remains under construction. This means that every additional week of delay on Chapel Road pushes Killincarrig further into the future, despite funding already being secured.

Councillors have not hidden their frustration. During the same meeting, Cllr Scott described it as “astonishing” and “mind‑boggling” that Eir is holding up the entire scheme, asking why it is taking so long and whether the same delays could occur in Delgany and Killincarrig. She called for further clarification from senior engineers. Cllr Mark Barry questioned whether writing to Eir would achieve anything, suggesting it may be a “futile exercise.”

The public mood mirrors these sentiments. Residents along Chapel Road have endured months of noise, dust, diversions and uncertainty. Businesses have reported reduced footfall. Commuters face daily congestion as traffic is funnelled through alternative routes. Cllr Louise Fenlon Gaskin feels the lack of movement on the project, with little visible activity on site, has eroded confidence in the council’s ability to manage major infrastructure works.

The council, for its part, insists that it is doing everything possible. Officials say they are pushing Eir to complete the undergrounding, coordinating with the main contractor, and preparing to accelerate works once the utilities are finally resolved. But without a firm timeline from Eir, the council remains unable to give residents the one thing they want most: a clear end date.

The Chapel Road saga has become a case study in how large infrastructure projects can unravel when dependent on external agencies. It has also exposed the limits of local authority control when dealing with private utility companies whose internal processes, staffing and priorities may not align with public expectations. As councillors continue to press for answers, and as residents continue to demand progress, the hope is that the promised breakthrough materialises, and that the long‑delayed project can finally move forward at full pace.