Clare County Council have denied that a new pricing system soon to be introduced at the Cliffs of Moher will prevent people from accessing the world-famous site for free.
The Clare People has learned that management of the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience are planning to introduce a major overhaul of parking and facility charges next month which - according to one of six independent traders based at the centre - is a deliberate effort to trick tourists into paying for accessing the site.
A long-standing public right of way exists at the Cliffs of Moher, meaning that each of the one million tourists who visit them each year have a right to walk the cliffs for free.
Since the opening of the €31 million Cliffs of Moher Experience in 2007, the council has charged €8 per car for parking and a separate charge of €4.95 to access the Atlantic Edge Exhibition Area.
However, according to cliffs trader Gerry Cahill, thousand of tourists are being tricked into paying to enter the exhibition area each year because the local authority is purposely confusing the issue.
He also claims that none of the centre’s six independent tenants were made aware of or consulted about the price change - despite claims by Clare County Council to the contrary.
According to Katherine Webster, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, the changes have been made to make the payment more straightforward and “easier for people to understand”.
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