asked the Minister for the Environment if, in the interest of promoting Ireland as an attractive country for holiday makers, both domestic and overseas, it is his intention to take steps to arrest and reverse the level of pollution in Irish beaches as a matter of urgency.
Written Answers. - Pollution of Beaches.
37.
I would refer the Deputy to my replies to Question No. 98 of 22 March, 1988, Questions Nos. 201 of 19 April and 50 of 4 May, 1988, on the condition of bathing waters at particular beaches, and Question No. 54 of 4 May, in which I outlined arrangements to ensure that beaches are kept free of oil and other pollution.
With few exceptions, the water quality at Irish beaches for which monitoring results are available, satisfies the mandatory standards of the EC Directive on the quality of bathing waters as well as the more demanding national standards for total coliforms and faecal coliforms.
On 4 May last, I made Regulations giving legal effect to the national standards for bathing water and applying these to 51 bathing areas. The Regulations require local authorities to give appropriate public notice should the standards fail to be observed and to take the necessary measures to ensure that the waters concerned are brought up to standard.
I am giving high priority, within the overall sanitary services programme, to the construction of sewerage schemes designed to eliminate pollution of inland and coastal waters.