€22.8m plan to improve quality of Youghal beach water

Irish Water has confirmed it is ready to go ahead with a €22.8m project which should significantly improve water quality at one of the country’s premier beaches.

In the past few years, the front strand in Youghal, east Cork, has suffered from poor water quality. Swimming was banned on one occasion due to excessive levels of bacteria which have the potential to cause serious illness and even death among the elderly, or those with acute medical conditions.

Unacceptably high e coli levels have dogged beaches in the area, mainly due to a combination of the town not having a waste water treatment plant and run-off of cattle faeces down the Blackwater Valley into the bay during periods of heavy rain.