Harris Issues Statement After Cliff Walk Meeting

Bray Head gate THURS20NOV25

atest press release from Tánaiste Simon Harris, issued on Tuesday, November 25th 2025…

An Tánaiste, Simon Harris TD today chaired a meeting of the Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk Taskforce to make progress on the reopening of this vital tourism, health and economic infrastructure in the community.

The meeting was attended by the Chief Executive of Wicklow County Council, the Chief Executive of Irish Rail, the National Park and Wildlife Service and Fáilte Ireland.

At the meeting it was agreed that:

⦿ The RPS report and recommendations are accepted by all members of the Taskforce and that everyone will work to implement the recommendations in the shortest possible time frame.

⦿ The Tánaiste committed the Government to funding the hiring of the professional expertise to turn the RPS Report into an actionable plan to ensure the sustainability of the walk into the future. Wicklow County Council believes procuring such professional services can begin before Christmas and conclude early in the New Year.

⦿ It was also agreed that while this work is vital, it will be necessary, as per the RPS report, to take measures to get the cliff walk back open in the short term. Wicklow County Council and Irish Rail both committed to working to achieve this and adopting to the actions in the report which fall to both organisations.

⦿ The Tánaiste agreed to meet the taskforce again in 2 weeks for an update on the progress on the short-term reopening. He stressed his view that everyone should work to get the walk reopened or as much of it as possible by March 2026. All members of the Taskforce agreed to work to this timeline.

⦿ The Chief Executive of Wicklow County Council outlined that at next week’s County Council Meeting, the Council will consider proposals to reform the Cliff Walk Management Committee to become an implementation body to oversee the next steps and that the new structure would also crucially involve representatives of groups such as the Friends of the Cliff Walk, alongside of course, Councillors and relevant statutory bodies. The Tánaiste welcomes this proposal which will help bring everyone together and he intends to support its work.

⦿ The Tánaiste also confirmed that the outdoor recreational funding earmarked for Wicklow County Council for implementation of short term solutions remain in place and the Government will assist further on short term costs, if these arise.

⦿ Fáilte Ireland also agreed to provide assistance in marketing North Wicklow in the here and now and also to working with the Council on funding opportunities that will arise for tourism infrastructure in 2026.

Speaking after the meeting, the Tánaiste said: “There is palpable frustration in our community on the closure of the cliff walk. I welcome the agreement today to work to reopen this vital amenity with both short term and medium term solutions. We must all pull together and work together to make this happen.

“I think the new structure involving the community will be vital. I am confident in the progress that can be made on the medium term, sustainable solution, but, in parallel, a major focus must be placed on a short term plan, as outlined in the report, and I am grateful for the agreement on this today.”

Designated Public Official under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 here.

You can check out the full RPS report here, find out more about the recent Cliff Walk shenanigans here, explore its history here, and check out Friends of The Cliff Walk here.