Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

The problem with the news about the blue flag beaches is that this year we are going backwards. As I outlined in my question, we went from having 83 blue flags in 2007 to 77 in 2009. As the Minister said, clean beaches are very important for our tourism industry. We can do without such bad news at this time. Not only tourists but Irish families go to beaches at this time of year. This is very important for our economy because there is a significant spin-off in the use of local services, shops and cafes at beaches. This news will not help us at a time when we must do everything we can to stimulate our economy, particularly the economies of coastal areas at this time of year.

I have another question regarding a matter that emerged at the same time, namely, uncollected rubbish at beaches after the June bank holiday weekend. That was further bad news about our beaches. Tourists come to Ireland and many Irish people stay here because of the perception that the country has a good and clean environment, with clean and safe beaches.

This must be given priority. I appreciate what the Minister said about wastewater treatment but there is an element of remoteness in his reply. I want to think that as Minister, Deputy Gormley will play a hands-on role in ensuring we win back blue flags for the beaches that lost them. What kind of monitoring will he do? It is not enough to say, for example, that he is setting aside €500 million and the EPA will do this or that. Will he check on this matter during the year so that next year we might gain more blue flags, winning back the ones we lost without losing any others?

Can we ensure that our beaches are cleaned up by the councils and that they have the necessary staff to do this?

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