Wicklow TD Condemns €1.45m Spend On Herbert Road Closure Plan Amid Widespread Local Outrage

Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow, John Brady, has today hit out at the revelation that €1.45 million has been spent this year alone on the proposed N11/M11 bus priority interim scheme.

The scheme includes the widely opposed plan to close Herbert Road in Bray.

Deputy Brady secured a debate in the Dáil to raise serious concerns about the proposal and was given the €1.45 million figure by the Minister of State in the Department of Transport, Seán Canney, during the exchange.

He described the decision to proceed with such a level of spending as “completely illogical and disconnected from the needs and wishes of local people,” and expressed alarm at the scale of public funding being allocated to a scheme overwhelmingly rejected by the community and local representatives.

“The fact that €1.45 million has been spent this year on a proposal that has no community backing and lacks a credible rationale is completely unacceptable,” said Deputy Brady. “This figure doesn’t just highlight poor judgment – it shows a brazen disregard for public opinion and fiscal responsibility.

“This money could and should have been spent on real transport solutions that reflect the needs of the people of Wicklow – improved infrastructure that enhances, not damages, our community. The traffic throughout Bray and on the N11 is often at gridlock, and with funding for major N11 upgrades pulled by the previous Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, this measure will do nothing to alleviate the problem.”

Deputy Brady confirmed he will continue to pursue the matter in the Dáil and hold both TII and the Minister for Transport to account for what he has described as an “alarming and questionable expenditure of taxpayer money."

“The people of Wicklow deserve transparency, accountability, and most of all, common-sense decision-making. I will continue to oppose this illogical and damaging project every step of the way.”