Richard Boyd Barrett: Sewage in Dublin Bay Endangering Swimmers
Richard Boyd Barrett warns that sewage-contaminated water is closing beaches across Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and putting swimmers at risk. He attributes the problem to failures in Irish Water's infrastructure and delayed testing, and calls for same-day testing and major rehabilitation.
Richard Boyd Barrett outlines how warning notices across Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown are telling people not to swim despite hot weather, because stormwater mixes with sewage and is discharged into Dublin Bay. He stresses that delays in water-quality testing mean public health warnings arrive days after contamination events.
Boyd Barrett blames the situation on the failure of Irish Water to rehabilitate ageing wastewater infrastructure. He argues that testing which returns results three days later is inadequate and that Dublin requires same-day testing and urgent upgrades to prevent sewage entering coastal waters.
The exchange in the chamber acknowledges a planned investment in wastewater infrastructure but underlines that Dublin’s coastline and population make the issue pressing. Boyd Barrett frames this as a public health matter that disproportionately risks vulnerable people and calls for faster testing and rehabilitation to allow safe swimming.
Immediate concern: beach warnings and public health
Richard Boyd Barrett outlines how warning notices across Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown are telling people not to swim despite hot weather, because stormwater mixes with sewage and is discharged into Dublin Bay. He stresses that delays in water-quality testing mean public health warnings arrive days after contamination events.
Infrastructure failure and testing delays
Boyd Barrett blames the situation on the failure of Irish Water to rehabilitate ageing wastewater infrastructure. He argues that testing which returns results three days later is inadequate and that Dublin requires same-day testing and urgent upgrades to prevent sewage entering coastal waters.
Government response and consequences
The exchange in the chamber acknowledges a planned investment in wastewater infrastructure but underlines that Dublin’s coastline and population make the issue pressing. Boyd Barrett frames this as a public health matter that disproportionately risks vulnerable people and calls for faster testing and rehabilitation to allow safe swimming.
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Transcript
Nes Éireann are saying we're facing tropical temperatures tonight, it's absolutely baking out there and people want and should be able to swim. But all across Dun Laoghaire-y-Rathdown there are warning notices saying you can't swim. The reason, and I've raised this repeatedly, is because of the failure of Irish water, Ischge Éireann, to rehabilitate the water infrastructure and the fact that when heavy rains come down, rainwater mixes with sewage and it goes into Dublin Bay. And the testing results come three days later, so there's a warning saying don't swim. And by the way, people are swimming, despite this, endangering their health. I've raised this repeatedly and the only reason we have testing outside the bathing season, by the way, is because we fought for it in Dublin. We need a same day testing and we need the rehabilitation of this decrepit water infrastructure that's preventing people swimming. Deputy Boyd-Barratt, I got the message but you went from tropical weather to torrential rainfall within one minute, and when? In three days. Oh no, to be fair to everybody, come on, two seconds. I'm trying to work out when the torrential rainfall was, but your point is well made. Look, there's a fundamental issue there and that's why we're putting £2.5 billion into this, to do some very substantial wastewater infrastructure. And Dublin is one of the areas that's probably most impacted, because of the access of the coast and the huge population and so on like that. So Deputy Murphy, I think essentially making the same point in terms of the impacts on swimmers and this is a public health issue, we can't take it lightly and when warnings are given we have to take them on board because it can result in significant illness as well for people who could be immunosuppressed or whatever, which would be doubly dangerous for people. For more UN videos visit www.un.org