Top bathing spots fail basic water cleanliness test

FOUR of the country’s top bathing spots have failed to meet basic water cleanliness marks.

The offending swimming areas were Sutton Burrow in north Dublin; Clifden, Galway; Lilliput on Lough Ennell in Westmeath; and Ballyallia lake in Ennis, Co Clare.

But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said 97% of Ireland’s 122 seawater and nine freshwater bathing spots meet European Union (EU) minimum mandatory hygiene standards.