Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I raise an issue relevant to the climate crisis and our biodiversity emergency. It is about water quality in Dublin Bay, in particular. Will the Government provide a timetable for the introduction of an amendment to Statutory Instrument 79 of 2008, the bathing water quality regulations? On foot of a meeting I had with a great organisation, SOS Dublin Bay, we ask that an amendment be introduced to provide local authorities with the discretion to determine the bathing season for the purpose of monitoring water quality at beaches and swimming areas. We believe this is an important issue to ensure we move away from the highly restrictive swimming season definition, currently 1 June to 15 September, provided in the regulations. Local authorities, such as Dublin City Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, should instead be given discretion to ensure the monitoring of water quality all year around, where relevant and necessary. This would greatly improve our public amenity in Dublin Bay and biodiversity, and it would tackle the climate crisis.

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