An East Cork TD says his constituents in the Ballycotton area have voiced their 'unhappiness' after the Taoiseach visited - and walked - the famous cliff-top path that was officially closed to the public.
Micheál Martin visited the very popular walk on Saturday afternoon and posted pictures of himself to Twitter saying: "Grabbed a few hours on Saturday to do the Ballycotton Cliff Walk. Such stunning views - and so good to see people out enjoying the good weather and beautiful scenery."
However, the Ballycotton Cliff Walk is currently closed.
Furthermore, there were signs there at the weekend which told the public that it was closed.
East Cork Sinn Féin TD Pat Buckley told CorkBeo.ie that locals have been told that the walk is not yet open with barriers remaining in place.
Deputy Buckley added that some locals he talked to since the Taoiseach's visit are unhappy that Micheál Martin got to walk along a popular pathway that is off-limits to locals and visitors alike.
"This is not the biggest issue facing East Cork, people here are far more concerned about the chronic lack of school places for their children, especially for children with special education needs, as there are currently around 50 of them with no school," said Deputy Buckley.
"But I have been contacted by locals who are unhappy that the Taoiseach was walking on the path they were told was closed - we should all have to abide by the same rules."
"Businesses are hurting locally, the Ballycotton Cliff Walk brings huge footfall to the area and the village has had to do without that," he added.
A spokesperson for the Taoiseach told CorkBeo; "The Taoiseach visited the Ballycotton Cliff Walk on Saturday and maintained social distancing at all times. The area was still accessible and being used by the public."
