Vol. 505 No. 6
26 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the steps, if any, he is taking to deal with the problem of the deteriorating water quality in bathing places in view of the recent findings of the Environmental Protec tion Agency that only 80 per cent of such places complied with standards likely to become mandatory; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14361/99]
Monitoring of bathing water quality is undertaken in accordance with national regulations implementing the European Council Directive on quality of bathing waters (76/160/EEC). The annual report on the quality of bathing water in Ireland is prepared by the EPA using the results of monitoring undertaken by local authorities. An EU-wide report is published annually by the European Commission.
The 1998 EU Bathing Water report commented that Irish bathing waters had kept their excellent rating. The 1998 EPA bathing water report, to be published shortly, has found that in 1998 most bathing areas complied with the minimum EU mandatory standards and that there was an improvement on the 1997 results.
In 1998 the compliance of bathing areas with EU guide values decreased slightly on the 1997 result. However the EPA report concludes that this is accounted for by higher than normal rainfall, and less sunshine, in Ireland during the 1998 bathing season. Higher rainfall increases run-off from land which affects water quality. Less sunshine can lead to higher levels of bacteria due to reduced breakdown of bacteria by ultra-violet rays.
Where bathing waters do not comply with the specified standards, local authorities are required to undertake the necessary measures to ensure compliance. My Department is financing, with Cohesion Fund support, major investment by local authorities nationwide to upgrade sewerage networks and waste-water treatment facilities. The main impact of this investment will be on estuarine and coastal areas.
