THE BLUE Flag scheme for beaches has been one of the main drivers for better quality bathing waters over the past 25 years because it provides an instantly recognisable badge of high status for beaches, not just in Ireland but throughout the European Union. It has also been important for An Taisce, which administers the scheme here, in showing that its agenda is considerably broader than merely objecting to planning applications for developments which the trust – a charitable body with ever diminishing funding from the Department of the Environment – would regard as environmentally unsustainable or otherwise inappropriate.
Altogether, 32 criteria must be fulfilled in order to win a Blue Flag - not just full compliance with EU bathing water standards, with frequent test results posted for all to see. Environmental education activities must be offered and promoted to beach users as well as information on local ecosystems. Naturally, the beach must be kept clean, with adequate facilities for waste disposal and recycling. Drinking water must be available, as well as toilets with “controlled sewage disposal” and an adequate number of lifeguards and/or life-saving equipment. In other words, securing a Blue Flag is not easy.
It will now be more difficult to regain, once lost. Under new rules due to come into force next year, beaches that fail to meet Blue Flag standards will be required to certify achievement of bathing water quality standards for the following four years before they will have a chance of regaining it. And while the water quality at beaches has improved in recent years, due to the efforts of local authorities and environmentally aware citizens, the new criteria will be tougher to meet. But then, as An Taisce pointed out, the Blue Flag is an award for excellence rather than compliance with minimum standards. And the public should expect nothing less at the 84 beaches in the State that now hold the Blue Flag.
It is regrettable that Dollymount Strand, one of the most popular beaches in Dublin and the closest for many residents of the city, lost its flag last year – and not for the first time. Dublin City Council said all conditions necessary to achieve the Blue Flag at Dollymount had been put in place by its parks department, and water quality results in line with the regulations had been submitted. Dubliners with a devotion to Dollymount can only hope that these measures will be sufficient to ensure that it regains the award when the next round of Blue Flag designations are announced in June.