Date released: May 07, 2025
8 May 2025: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published the Bathing Water Quality in Ireland report for 2024 which shows that water quality at most of Ireland’s bathing waters was of a high standard. 81 per cent of bathing sites have 'Excellent’ water quality, while 96 per cent meet or exceed the minimum standard of ’Sufficient’.
In 2024, urban wastewater related incidents were the most frequently reported cause of beach closures. Run-off from agriculture, fouling from dogs and wastewater from properties going to surface water drains rather than sewer (known as misconnections) also impacted on bathing waters.
Heavy rainfall and associated wastewater overflows, and runoff from agricultural lands and urban areas, can cause short-term deterioration in water quality. Localised intense rainfall, particularly in the West and North-West led to bathing water restrictions (including beach closures) to protect bather health. Overall, however, there were less restrictions in 2024 than in 2023.
Commenting on the report, Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment, said:
“We are happy to bring a positive news story on our bathing water quality for 2024, which is overall very good. Indeed, we have the highest number of “Excellent” classifications for bathing waters since 2014. However, heavy rainfall during another bathing season has emphasised the need to build climate resilience into the management of bathing waters. Heavy rainfall in the west and north-west last August especially resulted in many beaches being closed to protect swimmers’ health. Local authorities must step up their efforts to improve their understanding of causes of pollution from heavy rainfall and how this impacts beaches. This is also important outside the official bathing water season as more and more people are enjoying outdoor swimming all year round.”
The number of beaches classified as ‘Poor’ decreased from five to two in 2024. These are Lady’s Bay (Buncrana) Co. Donegal and Sandymount beach in Dublin, which were also poor in 2023. Management Plans are in place to identify pollution sources and put measures in place to improve water quality. This approach has been successful in the cases of three beaches that were Poor in 2023 and have since improved: Balbriggan (Front Strand), Trá na mBan (An Spidéal) and Loughshinny.
Three new bathing water sites were also identified in 2024 which were The Cove, Greystones, (Wicklow), Half-Moon (Dublin) and Dromineer Lake (Tipperary).
Further information on bathing water quality and updates on monitoring results during the bathing water season (1st June to 15th September) is available at www.beaches.ie. Out of season sampling is also carried out by some local authorities. These data are also shared on beaches.ie where available.
Swimmers should always check www.beaches.ie and the signage at the beach for the latest water quality information for their local bathing site.
The report Bathing Water Quality in Ireland 2024 is now available on the EPA website.
Further information: Emily Williamson, EPA Media Relations Office 053-9170770 (24 hours) or [email protected]
Notes to Editor
Throughout the bathing water season, water quality information and details of any incidents affecting bathing waters are displayed on the www.beaches.ie website. Some local authorities also carry out water quality monitoring outside the bathing water season and where available, these data are also shared on beaches.ie for information purposes.
The Bathing Water Quality in Ireland 2024 report, infographic and a map of the quality of Ireland’s Bathing water sites in 2024 are available on the EPA website.
Two beaches have been classified as Poor in 2024, Lady’s Bay, Buncrana and Sandymount Strand, Co Dublin. The local authorities are continuing to implement their management plans to address the sources of pollution at these beaches. Significant work has been carried out to investigate pollution sources and upgrade wastewater infrastructure at these two locations.
Two bathing waters have been classified as “Changes” in 2024, Balbriggan – Front Strand, Co. Dublin and Trá na mBan, An Spidéal, Co. Galway. This is an interim classification that is awarded when significant works to mitigate pollution issues have been completed at a Bathing Water, but additional water quality sampling needs to be carried out to meet the classification requirements.
In addition, Loughshinny Beach, Co. Dublin, has improved from Poor in 2023 to Sufficient in 2024 and the all-season bathing restriction has therefore been lifted.
Bathing season: The current designated bathing season, determined by Local Authorities for all beaches in Ireland is from 1st June to 15th September.
Identified Bathing Waters: This is the legal term used for those beaches and lakes managed under the Bathing Water Regulations. Local authorities are responsible for identifying Bathing Waters within their area annually. The 151 identified bathing waters are either coastal or inland waters widely used by the public for bathing and are monitored, managed and assessed under the requirements of the 2008 Bathing Water Quality Regulations.
Classification: Bathing areas are classified in one of four categories namely ‘Excellent’, ‘Good’, ‘Sufficient’ or ‘Poor’. The minimum mandatory requirement is for ‘Sufficient’ quality. Any waters graded as ‘Poor’ require that management measures be put in place to identify and eliminate the sources of pollution.
Assessment: Bathing Waters are classified based on a statistical assessment of monitoring data over a four-year period.
Bathing at sites classified as having ‘Poor’ water quality: The fact that any bathing water has been classified as ‘Poor’ means that there is a risk of microbiological pollution being present which could potentially cause illness such as skin rashes or gastric upset. Under the Bathing Water Regulations, local authorities are required to put in place notifications for the entire bathing season advising the public against bathing. This could include a bathing prohibition if a serious pollution incident occurs.
Pollution incident: This is an incident that has the potential to cause the bathing water quality to deteriorate, for example when there is a stormwater overflow from a waste water treatment plant, or when sampling identifies pollution. A precautionary approach is taken when reporting incidents, meaning that not all incidents result in a deterioration in the bathing water quality. This approach is taken to protect bathers’ health. When a pollution incident occurs, local authorities apply a swimming restriction at the bathing water. The restriction stays in place until water sampling shows that the water quality has returned to normal.
Prior Warning: Prior Warnings (also known as ‘Short-Term Pollution’) are used in a precautionary approach to protect bathers’ health by advising the public of possible short-term pollution events which usually last for only a few days at most. These are used by many local authorities when heavy rainfall is forecast.