Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

All politics is local and the issue I raise today is a local one in many ways. We have an unbelievable scenario in Ballinspittle where there are two wonderful beaches. Garrylucas is one of them. Garrylucas has now lost its blue flag because there is no recycling on the beach itself. It is 20 m away at the next beach in Garrettstown. It has recycling and blue flag status. We are stuck in a scenario where An Taisce, in its wisdom, has declared that one of our beaches in beautiful west Cork, with the weather shining, is not now up to blue flag status because the recycling facility is not in a location within a 20 m of the beach. What in the name of God are we doing? The weather is beautiful, with sunshine like we have never seen before, and An Taisce has obviously done a desktop study. Its representatives have never put a foot on the beach because if they did, they would have seen that these two beaches, which are actually joining, have a recycling centre right in the middle of them.

What I am asking for today relates to the unbelievable powers regarding blue flag status we have given An Taisce. They are now determining who gets a blue flag status. We now need to reel them in. We now need to have the Minister, who we have heard in another contribution is not willing to engage at some level, come on board to make sure that logic prevails when it comes to our beautiful natural resources. I cannot understand what the Minister has done here. An Taisce has lost the faith of the public in Cork over this issue and it needs to be brought to task. They need to be brought in by the Minister. I appeal to the Acting Leader to use his good powers to write to the Minister to intervene immediately to make sure that this beach, which is a wonderful beach that the Acting Leader knows well, is made an appropriate bathing water standard. It should get the designation that it always had.