Plan to clean up beaches with bylaws

PROBLEMS with illegal camping and the driving of motorised vehicles onto the beaches in Kerry are to be tackled during the summer.

Amended beach bylaws, which have just been adopted by Kerry County Council, will be in force next month and a newly appointed beach warden will take up duty.

Fears had been expressed that some of the bylaws were too severe, especially in relation to the social activities such as barbecues organised by local groups.

However, Kerry mayor Ted Fitzgerald yesterday said there will be a relaxation of permitting system under the new bylaws.

“Only activities of a commercial nature will now require permits,” he stated. This will cover activities such as the renting of equipment, or the sale of ice cream, for instance.

Jet skis will be banned from Kerry’s 13 Blue Flag beaches.

The council will also be focussing on problem areas such as the Maharees and Inch. Large-scale camping, combined with anti-social behaviour, as well as illegal dumping have become key issues in the Maharees in recent years.

At Inch, cars and other vehicles are regularly driven onto the beach.

The council’s environmental awareness officer, Michael O Coileain, pointed out that cars were being allowed to park in an area extending 200 metres from the left side of the entrance to the beach.

“This parking is permitted because there’s so little space for parking off the beach and landowners are not willing to give land for parking,” he said.

Thousands of people flocked to Kerry’s beaches last summer, with some leaving large amounts of litter behind. Mr O Coileain said the council was devoting a lot of resources to the control of littering and general maintenance of beaches.