TÁNAISTE SIMON HARRIS’ March target date for the reopening of the Bray to Greystones cliff walk will be “extremely challenging” to meet, according to the management committee leading the project. 

The December monthly meeting of the Cliff Walk Taskforce, led by the Tánaiste,  promised to implement “both short- term and medium-term solutions”, according to The Bray People.

The Tánaiste also said he would reconvene the taskforce again in two weeks for an update on the progress and stressed that everyone should work to get the walk reopened, or as much of it as possible, by March 2026.

The Friends of the Cliff Walk group said it warmly welcomed the statement from Harris on the timeline for reopening. 

After almost five years of closure, the group said there was now hope that the walkway could reopen close to St Patrick’s Day. 

The cliff walk was closed by Wicklow County Council in 2021 due to a number of landslides along the 7 kilometre-long route.

Work underway 

Cathaoirleach of Bray Municipal District and Green Party Councillor Erika Doyle who chairs the Bray to Greystone’s Cliff Walk Management Committee said in a local Facebook post this week that work is moving along as quickly as possible. 

However she said such a deadline would be “extremely challenging for all concerned”. 

Following the committee’s next meeting, an update on next steps will be provided, said Doyle.

She said: “It has and remains my commitment to the people of Bray to work to reopen the cliff walk in a safe and in a timely fashion, however we must adhere to proper procedure as with any process involving taxpayers money and public safety”. 

At the end of last month, the Friends of the Cliff Walk said it warmly welcomed the statement from Harris on the timeline for reopening. 

“Under the Tánaiste’s plan, both Wicklow County Council and Irish Rail have accepted the recent report by RPS consultant engineers and, crucially, have agreed to implement it in the shortest possible time frame, with St Patrick’s Day 2026 the target date for reopening as much of the walk as possible by then,” said the group.

Last week, it was agreed to expand the management committee, with six additional members to be added, three representatives from the Greystones side and three from the Bray side. 

Doyle said she understands the frustration felt by locals at the long delay in getting the walkway back open. 

During the summer, Wicklow County Council expressed concern over a report which claims that the closure of the Greystones-Bray cliff walk has cost the local economy millions of euros in lost revenue.

Using Fáilte Ireland data against international and domestic models, economic advisor to the Irish Tourism Industry Jim Power claims the five-year closure of the hiking trial has cost tens of millions of euros.