The public health notice currently in place for Portrane beach, which advises against swimming in the sea for the entire 2020 bathing season, is a matter of huge concern for the local community, according to Social Democrats Councillor for Rush-Lusk, Paul Mulville.
Cllr Mulville said:
“I welcome confirmation from Fingal County Council management that they have put in place an action plan to address bathing water issues in Portrane. However, it must not just sit on the shelf as this issue deserves priority actioning.
“This advisory notice is in place despite the fact that every water quality sample taken this year at Portrane has been classified as ‘excellent’, even as recently as July 27. The reason given for this restriction is because the beach was classified as having poor water quality following the 2019 bathing season.
“However, looking at the publicly available water quality results going right back to May 2015, out of the 80 water samples taken since then, 53 were classified as ‘excellent’, 21 were ‘good’ and only 6 were classified as ‘poor’. The latest ‘poor’ result was July 2018.”
He added:
“This isn’t an excuse, though, and the Council management, as well as other statutory authorities, must urgently follow through with the enforcement actions and network repairs outlined in their recent response to me.”
August 7, 2020