Madam, - With glorious weather over the Whit weekend, those of us lucky enough to get to the beaches basked in the sunshine and had a most enjoyable time. Unless, that is, you happened to pick Rossbeigh Beach, Co Kerry, as your destination.
It would appear that Kerry County Council has abandoned the upkeep of this beauty spot. There was no life guard on duty. There were no rubbish bins on the beach. In fairness to the thousands who visited at the weekend, they did take most of it back home with them. However, by Monday there was a fair amount of litter left behind.
All water taps were turned off. The toilets on the back beach were locked shut. We counted 21 tents on the back beach on Saturday night. Where do you think their inhabitants relieved themselves? The toilets at the front beach overflowed by 3pm on Friday.
There were no county council workers on the beach all weekend. A locked vehicle height restriction barrier to the beach prevented buses carrying disabled visitors having easy access to the beach. No one had the key. Had the ambulance/fire services been needed, they would have found it necessary to cut the lock losing precious minutes.
Caravans and camper vans were parked along the road, leading to gridlock and posing a real danger to the children who were darting in between them on to busy road.
Apparently Kerry County Council has closed the back beach to campers this season. Obviously no one informed the dozens who arrived expecting to enjoy the amenities of Rossbeigh Strand as they have done for the past 50 years.
These conditions are clearly unacceptable from a beach that was awarded Blue Flag status on Tuesday.
Had anyone from the judging panel been at Rossbeigh Beach last weekend, I have no doubt that honour would have been rescinded. - Yours, etc,
SUSAN GRIFFIN, Ballyhea, Charleville, Co Cork.