What could high level taskforce for Wicklow’s Murrough actually do to save railway and coastline?

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

The structural and environmental integrity of the Murrough, a vital multi-modal infrastructural corridor and a primary socio-economic asset for Wicklow town, has reached a critical inflection point.

As coastal erosion patterns accelerate, with longitudinal data indicating a loss of approximately 30 metres of foreshore over the preceding decade, local representatives have intensified calls for the establishment of a statutory Murrough Taskforce.

While the taskforce takes its inspiration from the Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk model, the two would differ significantly in their mission, the type of engineering required, and the national stakes involved.

In Bray and Greystones, the primary driver is tourism and recreation. The taskforce's goal is simply getting the gates open on a world-class cliff walk that has been closed for years due to safety risks.

In Wicklow town the driver is national infrastructure survival. The taskforce is fighting to prevent the total loss of the Dublin-Rosslare rail line and the town’s primary sea defence. If the Murrough fails, the railway fails, and the town floods.

The Cliff Walk deals with vertical rock stability, where the engineering challenge involves pinning rock faces, installing catch-fencing, and managing clay slides on steep cliffs. The Murrough deals with horizontal erosion, where the challenge is stopping the sea from eating away at a flat shingle bank. This requires rock groynes, SeaBee units, and replenishing sand/shingle, which is a completely different engineering discipline.

While environmentally sensitive, Bray Head doesn't have the same level of Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Area (SPA) designation as the Murrough Wetlands. The taskforce must navigate the wetlands, which is home to rare alkaline fens and ground-nesting birds.

This makes engineering much more legally challenging than the rock-pinning used in Bray.

The Cliff Walk is largely isolated from urban development, whereas any Murrough taskforce must coordinate with active urban regeneration, including a €20.3m masterplan, and developments on the old Veha site in the town. It must balance heavy industrial protection with new urban aesthetics, which isn't a factor for the group in Bray.

The taskforce in Wicklow would also need to tap into the NTA and Department of Transport for funding streams, because it is protecting a strategic transport corridor. It is an infrastructure project first and a tourism project second.

The primary catalyst for the taskforce is the precarious state of the national rail artery. Managed under ECRIPP, Iarnród Éireann’s long-term coastal defence strategy does not project the commencement of permanent shoreline stabilisation until 2029.

ECRIPP is funded by the Department of Transport, through the National Transport Authority under Project Ireland 2040, and aims to protect the East Coast rail line against coastal erosion and flooding. ECRIPP will include a new section of rock revetment at the Murrough where there is greatest risk to the rail line. The emerging preferred option for ECRIPP was presented to the public for consultation in 2024.

A formal response from the NTA to a parliamentary question from Wicklow Wexford TD Malcom Byrne revealed that Iarnród Éireann invested more than €27.2 million between 2015 and 2025 to defend the Dublin-Rosslare rail line from the escalating threats of coastal erosion and flooding.

The data underscores a dramatic shift in strategy, with annual spending surging from just €80,000 in 2015 to a peak of €7.2 million in 2023, reflecting the transition from reactive storm repairs to pre-emptive structural strengthening.

While these measures have been critical, the NTA confirmed that the project has now moved into a decisive phase; ECRIPP have completed feasibility and preliminary design stages, with formal planning applications for permanent, long-term defences slated for submission in Q3 2026.

Local representatives, including Cllr Paul O'Brien and Cllr Gail Dunne, contend that the current rate of erosion renders this timeline insufficient.

"The operational reality on the ground does not align with a five-year planning horizon," noted Cllr O'Brien during a recent council discussion on the issue.

"Without immediate interim intervention facilitated by a dedicated taskforce, the structural foundation of the rail corridor remains exposed to catastrophic failure during subsequent winter storm cycles."

Cllr Dunne has warned that without a multi-agency taskforce, the Dublin-Rosslare rail line and the Murrough itself will be "washed away" before the end of the decade.

To function effectively, the taskforce would require a granular mix of executive power, technical expertise, and local oversight.

So, with growing calls for the group’s establishment, here is an imagined list of potential members of the taskforce.

1. National executive and funding chairs To achieve the Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk level of visibility, the taskforce would need to be chaired by a figure with the authority to bypass standard budgetary cycles, for example:

• The Tánaiste / Transport Minister: Direct ministerial involvement could help reclassify the Murrough as a project of national strategic importance. This would provide the political clout to pull forward the 2030 ECRIPP funding into the 2026/27 window.

• OPW Commissioner: Specifically, the lead for flood risk management. Their seat would be critical for approving minor works scheme grants (up to €750,000 per project) for immediate rock armouring.

2. Technical infrastructure leads These hypothetical members would hold the blueprints and the legal responsibility for the physical shoreline:

• Iarnród Éireann chief engineer: Representing ECRIPP. Their role would be to ensure that temporary town defences do not interfere with the long-term stability of the Dublin–Rosslare line.

• National Transport Authority (NTA) director: To oversee the integration of the Wicklow to Greystones Greenway and ensure that transport grants are utilised for dual-purpose coastal protection.

• Wicklow County Council chief executive: They would act as the local lead to coordinate between the Municipal District engineers and the national agencies.

3. Local political and planning oversight The idea behind this group is people who could represent the town’s immediate needs and the local Masterplan:

• Wicklow Municipal District councillors: Councillors including Paul O'Brien and Gail Dunne, who have spearheaded the push for the taskforce and hold the mandate for the Waterfront Park Masterplan.

• Senior planning officer (Wicklow CoCo): To manage the complex Part 8 planning processes and ensure that developments like the Veha site hotel and housing meet strict coastal setback requirements.

4. Environmental and community guardians This group could mitigate the risk of legal challenges or environmental damage to the Special Area of Conservation (SAC):

• National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) representative: They could provide real-time guidance on protecting the Murrough Wetlands and ensuring soft engineering solutions are prioritised where possible.

• South East Coastal Protection Alliance (SECPA): This is a technical community group that would be able to act as a watchdog for the town’s environmental heritage and prevents piecemeal planning.

• Wicklow Town Team chairperson: Representing local businesses and tourism interests, they could ensure the pump track and amenity investments are protected.

To move from a conceptual phase into an active delivery vehicle, the taskforce could launch a live, digital dashboard, showing real-time erosion rates and the status of funding applications, which keeps public pressure on national government by showing exactly how many metres of land are being lost each month. This could turn the slow-motion collapse into a visible, data-driven national emergency.

Operating beyond the constraints of Wicklow County Council’s annual budget, which is heavily committed to housing and essential services, the taskforce could be tasked with mobilising national and European emergency funds.

Current estimates suggest that comprehensive protection for the Wicklow coastline requires an investment exceeding €145 million, a figure that necessitates high-level political discussions a formal taskforce can accommodate.

In February 2026, the local authority’s chief executive, Emer O'Gorman, confirmed that the executive is currently exploring the formal parameters for the taskforce. This indicates a pivotal shift toward a proactive resilience model for the town’s eastern boundary.

The success of the Murrough Taskforce would be defined by its ability to compress a decade’s worth of planning into a three-year action window.

As the Irish Sea continues its encroachment, the establishment of this body would represent the town’s most significant strategic effort to preserve its geography and future.