They include two Galway spots and one on Westmeath.
The Environmental Protection Agency has released it's latest bathing report, which classifies the quality of bathing spots around Ireland.
Overall, the number of Irish swimming spots that met EU minimum standards last year in Ireland rose to 140, with over 100 classified as ‘excellent’.
Key findings from the report included:
• 95% of bathing waters met or exceeded the minimum required
standard.
• 89% of bathing waters were classified as Excellent or Good.
• Merrion Strand was classified as Poor for the last five years, 2015
to 2019, meaning it will be closed or ‘declassified’ as a bathing
water in 2020.
However, waters at five locations failed to meet the minimum standards and were classified as ‘poor’.
Those were:
- Merrion Strand, Dublin
- Portrane (the Brook) Beach, Dublin
- Ballyloughane Beach, Galway
- Clifden Beach, Galway
- Lilliput, Lough Ennell, Westmeath
A further 24 locations were classified as ‘good’, and 9 were classified as ‘sufficient’.
Given it is the fifth year in a row that water at Merrion Strand has been classified as ‘poor’, it will now be declassified as a bathing spot for 2020.
Meanwhile Portrane (the Brook) Beach and Clifden have received a ‘poor’ classification for the past four years.
You can see the full report, here.
