The EPA assessment of bathing water quality from 151 sites around the country shows that 96% of sites met or exceeded the minimum standard in 2024. This is up by two from 2024 to a total of 145 sites, out of which 122 (81%) have ‘excellent’ standard water quality.
This was the highest number of ‘Excellent’ classifications since 2014.
Nineteen beaches were classified as having ‘Good’ water quality while water quality at four beaches was ‘Sufficient’. An additional three new bathing waters were officially identified with Half-Moon in Dublin classified for the first time with ‘Excellent’ water quality
Bathing waters are generally tested during the three-and-a-half-month official bathing season, even though people swim year-round in many locations. Even areas that rank highly can sometimes experience temporary dips in quality, with heavy rainfall causing runoff of contaminants from the lands and overflows from wastewater treatment systems proving a major problem.
For sites not meeting standards, such as Sandymount Strand, failures were deemed to be “misconnections and sewage overflows which contaminate streams flowing to the bathing water, dog fouling left on the beach and marine birds”. Bathing water at Lady’s Bay in Buncrana, Co. Donegal was affected by “untreated wastewater released occasionally from the town’s collecting system”.
The EPA have asked Local Authorities to build climate resilience into the management of pressures impacting on bathing waters.
Swimmers are advised to check www.beaches.ie and the signage at the beach for the latest water quality information for their local bathing site before entering the water.
The report is available at the following link:
