Deputy Gerard Brady has been given permission to raise the subject of sewage pollution of the water and beaches in Dublin Bay. The Deputy has 20 minutes.
Adjournment Debate. - Dublin Bay Pollution.
Firstly, I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for affording me the opportunity of highlighting this problem in the context in which I and many other citizens of Dublin feel that it should be raised.
I should like at the outset to define the parameters of the geographical location to which I am referring in my contribution. Dublin Bay stretches from Howth right across to Bulloch Harbour including the areas of the Bull Wall, Sandymount Strand and, of course, Coliemore. It also reaches out on the northward side to Portrane, Portmarnock and back down to Bray. This area has boasted of the finest beaches and best amenities in Europe to citizens living in a city of the size of Dublin. These afford great facilities in aquatic sports and are an important tourist attraction. It would not be any harm to quickly refer to the famous Dublin Bay prawns which are readily available on many international menus.
With the strongest possible voice I wish to raise an alarm to the effect that the waters within Dublin Bay and the beaches are in a very serious state of contamination at the moment. I do not think that this is particularly realised in its fullest gravity. Regrettably, repeated assurances from the Eastern Health Board that the level of pollution does not exceed EEC levels do not hold weight when one examines the evidence available.
I know that statistics can be a little boring but a level allowing for a contamination of say, 2,000 B-coli bacteria per 100 millilitres is acceptable by EEC standards. The Eastern Health Board admitted recently that, of ten sample cases taken, two exceeded that level. Even though that is random sampling, on anyone's rapid calculation that represents something like 20 per cent above the accepted level. However, the EEC qualify their recommendations by saying that up to 5 per cent is acceptable. The figures obtained from sampling on some of our beaches — for instance, Dollymount Strand — shows 80 per cent, substantially exceeding that limit. The same would apply on account of their proximity, to other beaches and sea such as Sandymount Strand, Seapoint and Bulloch Harbour.
I do not want to be an alarmist and am not advocating the view that the beaches should be closed down and people stopped using the waters of Dublin Bay — far from it. It must be put in its context. However, it is developing at present into a very critical situation, which as a matter of extreme urgency will have to be tackled before it becomes necessary for health hazard warnings to be put on beaches.
I remember a short year ago raising the alarm here about the Windscale operation which was thought at that stage to be an alarmist point of view. An all-party delegation are going to Windscale next week and action is being taken as a result of pressure being brought to bear.
I shall give the House an example of the illnesses which can result from water pollution of this level when B-coli bacteria are present in such a high concentration in our waters. Any doctor in general practice has chronicled many cases of severe gastro-enteritis in children during the summer months. Quite obviously the problem is accentuated during those months, but it is there throughout the winter also. Complaints such as skin rashes are not at all uncommon. People will say that we have not an epidemic of gastro-enteritis, but we do not want to wait for that. What we have is a climate in the water and the surrounds which is ripe as a culture medium for the spreading of an outbreak of, at the very worst, a polio epidemic if certain cases arise in the city. We all realise how this dreaded disease spreads through sewage into the water.
It might not be commonly realised or recognised that raw sewage is pumped out into Dublin Bay. Some is treated and part of that to acceptable levels, but raw sewage is pumped into the bay. If people for one moment doubt what I am saying the best that I can do is to ask them to go out to see for themselves on a calm sea in Dublin Bay. Seeing, after all, is believing. Anyone with any sort of maritime experience or who has enjoyed the waters offshore in Dublin Bay for the past 20 or so years will realise that we are rapidly going downhill and that the pollution level there is quite appalling. Children are at risk as a consequence of that.
I am very pleased that the Minister of State lives in a maritime constituency and likes to enjoy the facilities of the beaches of Dublin is present. What is needed — and as a matter of urgency — is a complete survey of the entire bay, primarily to review what I take to be the antiquated system of pumping sewage into it. World experts agree that, ideally, the best system is an outward pumping of two to three miles offshore, given that hydrologists would have ascertained after very extensive study the ideal siting for particular pipes rather than piping sewage out without realising the effects of complicated inflows, outflows and tidal flows within the bay.
It goes without saying that a major campaign is needed. Perhaps the Minister would take note of this suggestion. He may intend doing this for the summer months, if he is aware of the danger. An inordinate amount of dumping takes place within the bay at the moment. This habit has increased. It is like the sly criminal at night who dumps things overboard from boats. This is quite a rampant practice in Dublin Bay. When you go out into the bay you can go through hundreds of yards of flotsam and jetsam which is simply appalling and all this comes back on to the beaches. We could be talking in terms of a number of years before the new sewage disposal scheme for Dublin is fully completed. There are almost one million people living in this city. The cost of this scheme is estimated to be up to £300 million. After all, we are members of the EEC and we have got rights to EEC regional funding. I am sure the Minister has read with great interest the recent publication by the European Commission entitled Ten Years of Community Environment Policy. If he turns to page 19, section 4(a), paragraph 25, on water, he will see that it is spelt out clearly how the EEC look at the water pollution question. The Government should become involved in this immediately because the pressure on sewerage disposal into Dublin Bay it totally unacceptable. One has only to go to Bulloch Harbour to see what the situation there is like.
In certain places where pollution is very bad and beaches are not suitable for use by young children health warnings should be put up. We should admit the problem. At least if we face up to it we will be able to do something about it. I am not just speaking from my own investigation into this matter. In The Sunday Press of last Sunday a marine expert and microbiologist argued that the pollution level in the water of Dublin Bay is far in excess of the standards set out by the EEC. I remember when I served on Dublin Corporation studying many reports about this — the waters at that time were not as murky as they are today. I do not know if an on-the-spot examination would be the best thing for the Eastern Health Board experts to engage in, in conjunction with public representatives. I always think that is a good idea. If they want to do it on their own that is all to the good, but it is important to bring Members of the House out to Dublin Bay and let them see what the situation is. It is much better to do that than put the problem away and continue on with one report after another. I am voicing the concern of thousands of Dublin people when I say that.
Sandymount Strand is a very important strand in my constituency and I am well aware of the pollution levels there and the algae and seaweed type material which is constantly on the beach. Many parents are concerned about allowing their children to bathe in the waters of Dublin Bay. They want to get further down south to the Silver Strand and Brittas Bay. That is the factual situation.
I am rather surprised, with the European elections taking place tomorrow, that this matter of pollution in Dublin Bay has not become a very important issue in the campaign. If we are going to quote EEC reports and EEC levels of contamination and if it is to be a matter for the EEC, perhaps the Minister could take the matter to Europe and if we have not got the funds to cope with it make it a major issue to do something about it straight away.
We do not tend to use the bay sufficiently from a tourist point of view but, conscious of youth recreation and developing an awareness of the great outdoors, trying to encourage our children to engage in maritime activities, sailing and so forth, more and more people with increased leisure time will avail of this great facility. It would be a great tragedy if we allowed Dublin Bay to become irreversibly damaged by pollution of this kind. I am quite sure that, like me, many Members remember when one could safely go out to any of the beaches around Dublin, find clear water and enjoy the amenities of the bay. That is not the case any more. Sub-aqua people will tell you that you cannot engage in that type of activity any more in Dublin Bay because conditions are so bad.
I realise that it is a very difficult problem, but I have set out a few matters which the Minister of State might address himself to, at least getting to grips with the problem and tackling it on a three or four year plan. I am sure the Minister is fully aware of the problem. There was great highlighting of the Dublin Bay problem with the talk of siting an oil refinery in the bay. Leaving all that aside, the health hazard is there for everybody to see. It only takes an epidemic of gastro-enteritis or something more deadly to turn people completely off using the facilities. At that stage we will be saying that we should have done something about it. I ask the Minister, instead of giving me repeated assurances that everything is all right, which thousands of people know is not the case, to think of what he will do about it.
I share the Deputy's concern as to the need to preserve the quality of our waters, and I can assure the House that I would take immediate remedial action if I felt that any of our rivers, lakes or bays were endangered. However, I do not agree that the waters of Dublin Bay present any danger to health, such as Deputy Brady spoke about.
Substantial information on the bay and the Liffey estuary is to be found in the Crisp study which covers the period from 1971 to 1974. This found that the water in the outer estuary and Dublin Bay was of good quality, and that the strong clockwise current continually flushing the bay contributed to the maintenance of this standard. The generally satisfactory position in the bay area is also illustrated by the passage of salmon and sea trout for spawning. However, localised pollution and aesthetically unacceptable conditions occur at times in parts of the bay and improvements must be made in the affected areas.
The bulk of the domestic waste discharged to the bay does not receive full treatment. While this practice has met with public criticism, it should be recognised that the use of properly designed and located sea outfalls provides for a form of marine treatment of sewage which compares favourably with the type of treatment which must be provided for our inland towns. A proper outfall takes advantage of the ample supply of oxygen in the sea. This allows micro-organisms to break down the organic substances in the sewage into separate substances which do not cause a nuisance.
A programme of monitoring for the purposes of the EEC Bathing Water Directive is carried out at two locations on Dollymount beach during the bathing season. Monitoring is carried out on a fortnightly basis as required by the directive and results have been consistently good. Since 1978 full compliance with the requirements of the directive has been achieved and analysis of the monitoring shows that results are well within the parameters of the directive.
Other areas of the bay are also monitored, though less frequently, and these include Seapoint, Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, Corbawn Lane, Shankill, Blackrock north and south beaches. The monitoring programme for these areas was extended this year beyond the traditional bathing months and in fact commenced on 1 March 1984.
While a number of monitoring results at certain locations have, on occasions exceeded the standards set out in the Bathing Water Directive, the coastal waters in Dublin Bay do not, in the opinion of the health authority, constitute a threat to public health and are safe to swim in. I am quoting what the health authority said, not what my Department might say, or the Deputy might think I wanted them to say.
It is like the US Surgeon General saying health is not damaged by smoking.
We draw on the health authority for information on health. It is important to stréss that.
A programme for improvement in sewage disposal has been in progress for some years and extensive headway has been made on the greater Dublin drainage scheme which will ultimately service 1,000,000 people at a cost of £50 million. As regards specific problem areas, improvement works are either completed or planned in the major trouble spots and I will now detail the position for the various locations along the bay.
Seapoint: the source of pollution is the Dún Laoghaire outfall off the west pier and, with easterly winds, pollution would tend to increase at Seapoint. Local authority proposals to alter this outfall are at early planning stage. I have asked the local authorities to submit them. We have been looking for them because we have been aware of the problem. We will study them. I sent a letter to the local elected representatives giving a clear indication that the Department are aware of the problem.
Dollymount: the Dublin city outfalls, which discharge into the river Liffey upstream of the Poolbeg generating station and carry sewage from the city centre and from Pembroke—Rathmines, affect the Bull Wall significantly with lesser effects on the south Dollymount strand. A programme for improvement in sewage treatment is being carried out and a new sewage treatment works at Ringsend is operational since February 1982. When the Ringsend pumping station is commissioned in autumn 1984, a major improvment in the existing position should occur.
Coliemore Harbour Dalkey: this is not a bathing area of any significance and the cause of pollution is a small sewage outfall at the pier. Corbawn Lane, Shankhill: a new sewage disposal scheme has been completed at a cost of £7 million and this includes a 1.4 km marine outfall at Shanganagh. This scheme which came into operation in autumn 1983 should resolve problems in this area. It will take a little time to see it happening but it will. Blackrock, north and south beach: occasional high readings have been mainly attributable to a malfunction in the Tobernea drainage pump. The beach is not used for bathing and chlorination is carried out on the water in the baths.
As regards pollution control, the Water Pollution Act, 1977, with its licensing provisions for the control of discharges of trade and certain sewage effluents into waters and sewers, is the main legal instrument at the disposal of local authorities. The latest information to hand shows that the general level of implementation of the Act as indicated by the number of licences issued, cases investigated and follow-up action taken, continues to improve. However, the Review of Water Pollution in Ireland which was presented by the Water Pollution Advisory Council last year highlighted the slow rate of progress in the preparation of water quality management plans. I consider that such a plan is essential for the protection of water quality in Dublin Bay because the capacity of the bay to absorb pollution is finite and we need to assess the impact of existing discharges on the assimilative capacity. In addition, a plan would enable the local authorities to allocate the remaining assimilative capacity between new industrial and domestic discharges, and enable them to identify areas where remedial action is necessary.
The making of a water quality management plan is a matter for the local authorities. When I was speaking in Dún Laoghaire at a Dublin Bay seminar I indicated that I want to get a water quality management plan going. It is my intention to involve the three local authorities. This will provide a positive approach.
When does the Minister of State anticipate having this plan?
I will be moving quickly and requesting the local authorities to set it up. We have to get permission from the Department of Fisheries because they are involved. It will be in the near future. That is the way forward. This plan will have a tremendous effect on Dublin Bay, which is a very important amenity. We want to ensure that the population can swim in safety. I do not harbour the same fears as the Deputy about the health aspect. I am not a professional but I swim almost every day of the year. There are times when I do not like the look of the water but, basically, Dublin Bay is reasonably clean. We require a plan and we require action. I assure the Deputy, and the House, that such action will be taken.
The Dáil adourned at 5.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 19 June 1984.