Cutbacks leave beaches looking like rubbish tips
Garryvoe Beach in Co Cork, where a combination of seaweed, litter and dog dirt has attracted a huge amount flies
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THE full cost of council cutbacks was laid bare yesterday as tonnes of rubbish was left uncollected on some of the country's most popular beaches.
Dirty nappies, disposable barbeques and broken glass discarded by daytrippers over the bank holiday weekend were not removed from bathing spots until yesterday because of spending cutbacks.
And local authorities have warned they will not be able to maintain beach-cleaning services this year because of a ban on employing temporary staff.
The admission comes as Environment Minister John Gormley today announces the country's Blue Flag beaches -- awarded to the cleanest and best-managed beaches across the country.
Leftovers
Yesterday Fingal County Council, which manages nine beaches in north Dublin, said a "significant volume" of rubbish was dumped including tin cans, plastic bottles, broken bottles, food wrappers and leftovers.
There were no litter staff working over the weekend, and Donabate beach was only cleaned early yesterday morning. Just half of Portmarnock strand could be cleared of rubbish because day trippers arrived from early yesterday morning, meaning it was unsafe to operate its beach-cleaning machine.
The council also warned that it could not afford to provide additional bins on beaches this summer.
"Due to significant financial and staffing constraints the council is not in a position to repeat the practice of previous years of placing bins at regular intervals on the beaches," a spokeswoman said. "We will not be in a position to offer the level of services relating to beach cleaning."
Local authorities claim they were not prepared for the large volumes of people who flocked to beaches over the weekend, which left daytrippers in the south "sickened" by the condition of some beaches.
Radio stations were flooded with complaints about the poor condition of some bathing spots.
One mother, Mags O'Donoghue, said she was "appalled" by the condition of one beach -- Garryvoe in East Cork -- where vast mounds of rotting seaweed left portions of the strand covered in flies. Another woman said that Youghal beach was treated "like a dump" by day trippers.
Both Cork and Kerry County Councils said limited resources meant some beaches could not be cleaned on a daily basis.
Waterford and Louth County Councils said they could not afford beach cleaners at weekends, while Sligo County Council said it was providing fewer bins.
Wicklow County Council said while staff were working over the weekend it was an "uphill struggle" to keep beaches clean. Wexford County Council has seen its cleaning staff cut from 20 to 16 because of cutbacks, but said cleaning took place over the weekend.
The Department of the Environment said it was up to each local authority to prioritise how money was spent, adding that staff could be allocated from other council departments to keep beaches clean.
When the Department of Finance banned recruiting temporary staff, officials had secured a derogation for beach lifeguards and any "resourcing issues" in terms of cleaning staff would be considered.
Additional reporting by Brian McDonald, Ralph Riegel, Denise Clarke and Anita Guidera
- Paul Melia
