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23rd May 2017 • Volume 24, Issue 18 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. K67 P5W4. • Tel: 01 8•400•200 • info@northcountyleader.ie • www.northcountyleader.ie
Disappointment At Local Beaches The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report on bathing water in Ireland and has highlighted the poor quality of the bathing water at six beaches nationwide, three in Dublin and three in Galway. By Leslie Murphy The extremely disappointing news is that two of the three Dublin beaches are located here in the North County, namely Portrane and Loughshinny. This means that one third of the nation’s beaches deemed ‘Poor’ are located here. This comes just as An Taisce is set to award Blue Flags to beaches nationwide, just in time for the beginning of the bathing season, as well as Green Coast Awards. The hope is that this will not deter visitors to the area at the height of the lucrative summer season, with damaging effect to the Council’s tourism strategy. A local auctioneer told this paper “this is very unfair to residents of these coastal areas who have paid above the normal house prices to be tolerating this.”
The report was carried out to meet regulations of EU standards and reports and tests were carried out in bathing seasons over the last four years. The report gathered it’s information up to September 2016 and then the decision was made whether the water was deemed fit for bathing. The bathing season runs from 1st June to 15th September every year and the water that is collected is what has led to this conclusion. The County Leader contacted the relevant bodies to find out why Portrane and Loughshinny fared so poorly. A spokesperson for the County Council said, “Portrane the Brook and Loughshinny beaches have been classed as being of Poor quality following assessment of the last four years monitoring results, as per 2008 Bathing Water Quality Regulations.”
quality monitoring and environmental awareness.” We also asked the spokesperson to comment on the impact that this news is likely to have on their much publicised tourism strategy. They said, “While excellent water quality is desirable from a tourism perspective, it has been our experience in the past that the lack of this status has not affected local and visitor footfall on our beaches, with large numbers continuing to enjoy the amenities available. The Council also confirmed that poor water quality is caused by a high presence
management measures be put in place to identify and eliminate the sources of pollution. Where waters have shown a significant improvement but have fewer than 16 samples post change they can be classed as ‘Changes’ until sufficient results are available for full classification. Similarly, newly identified waters need to have 16 samples taken before they are classified.” “The fact that any bathing water that has been classified as ‘Poor’ means that there is a risk of periodic microbiological pollution which could potentially cause illness such as skin rashes or gastric upset.”
“The fact that any bathing water that has been classified as ‘Poor’ means that there is a risk of periodic microbiological pollution which could potentially cause illness such as skin rashes or gastric upset.” - Peter Webster, EPA
“These bathing waters must now have a bathing restriction in place for this entire season. The bathing restriction details the precautions that beach users should take to reduce the risk of illness. These are, avoid swallowing or splashing water, wash your hands before handling food, avoid swimming with an open cut or wound and avoid swimming if you are pregnant or have a weakened immune system. A Beach Management Plan has been prepared for both beaches, with measures planned to improve water quality and including wastewater systems upgrades, inspections and water
of bacteria, which is mostly caused by bad weather and overflow of drains into the sea when heavy rains are present. “There will be daily updates available to the public once bathing season begins and weekly tests of the water will be carried out and the results will be available on line. This is how locals will find out whether the water is safe or not. If the water isn’t safe, then it is up to the Council to put a notice up at entrance of beaches.” Peter Webster, EPA Senior Scientific Officer responded to the County Leader, when he said, “It is important to let the public know about their water quality. Bathing areas are currently classified in one of four categories namely ‘Excellent’, ‘Good’, ‘Sufficient’ or ‘Poor’. The mandatory requirement is for Sufficient’ quality. Any waters graded as ‘Poor’ require that
We also contacted Irish Water for an update on the situation. Spokesperson, Clare O’Riordan said, “Irish Water is investing in the wastewater infrastructure locally to support future development in the area and to protect the environmental projects there and to support future development in the area and to protect the environment.” “Irish Water has two projects to enable decommissioning of the Loughshinny septic tank. The sewer network flowing into this septic tank will be diverted into a new pumping station at Loughshinny. The contract to construct this pumping station and associated pipelines is planned to start in 2018. From the new pumping station in Loughshinny, wastewater will be pumped to the Barnageeragh Wastewater Treatment Plant,” she concluded.
daa Chief Executive Moves On Dublin Airport Authority (daa) has announced that its Chief Executive, Kevin Toland is to step down later this year, to become Chief Executive of the publicly quoted food group, Aryzta AG. Toland, who became daa Chief Executive in January 2013, will join Aryzta following a sixmonth notice period, or earlier if agreed. daa Chairman, Pádraig Ó Ríordáin said it had been “a privilege to work with Kevin” over the past four and a half years. He has worked tirelessly and with great vision to redevelop strategically the management structure and business approach of the Group, with compelling results. He praised Toland for overseeing the phenomenal growth of daa. “Under Kevin’s leadership, Dublin Airport was the fastest-growing major airport in Europe last year, Cork Airport is back
By Patrick Finnegan to robust growth and our international businesses have expanded strongly. Kevin has contributed so much. We wish him every success in his new role and look forward to continuing to work closely with him over the remainder of his term,” he said. The Board of daa will now begin the process of identifying a new Chief Executive. Toland said, “It has been an absolute honour to lead daa, and I will remain fully focused on the business in the months ahead. I have greatly enjoyed working with staff and management. I have learned so much from my time with daa and am so proud of the fantastic job that our staff do for our customers and
passengers across the globe on a daily basis,” he said. Chief Executive of Fingal Dublin Chamber, who also announced his resignation last week paid tribute to Toland when he said, “The surprise announcement that Kevin Toland is stepping down as CEO of daa will be seen as a great loss to Dublin Airport. Kevin has been innovative, dynamic and very strategic in leading the management team at daa over the past four years.” “The impact of his tremendous energy and foresight will be seen for years to come. Personally, I met Kevin on many occasions and found him to be inspiring and an engaging person with great skills and I’m sorry to see him leaving Dublin Airport,” concluded Lambert.
Retiring DAA Chief Executive, Kevin Toland