Government wants year-round water quality research for sea swimmers 

An expert group had been regularly meeting to consider how best to protect bathers’ health with 'particular focus' on outside the current June-September period. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Protecting the health of sea swimmers all-year round and reviewing the extent of illnesses they present with at healthcare facilities will be the focus of new research commissioned by the Department of Housing.

It said it wanted to develop its policy around “out-of-season” bathing in Ireland, including analysing water quality and how best to communicate and manage sea swimming during the winter months.

Ireland’s designated bathing season currently runs from June 1 to  September 15, and identified bathing waters are the legal term used for those beaches and lakes managed under the bathing water regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency works with the HSE and local authorities to ensure such spaces are safe to swim in.

Between June and September, information on the bathing water quality at these spots is regularly updated, with descriptions ranging from “excellent” to “poor”. Last year, 78% of bathing areas in Ireland were rated as excellent according to the EPA, with just two beaches rated as poor.

The EPA said swimmers are encouraged to identify local bathing sites to their local authorities so standards can be met and maintained.

The new piece of research from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage comes after what it said has been “increased interest in ‘out-of-season’ or winter swimming, and as such there has been calls for the extension of the bathing season in Dublin Bay to a 12-month season with a call for communication of more rapid or ‘real time’ bathing water quality monitoring results”.

It said an expert group had been regularly meeting to consider how best to protect bathers’ health with “particular focus” on outside the current June-September period and is currently gathering data on out-of-season bathing from the public and local authorities.

The research, it said, should “collate all available scientific evidence to help inform policy development and guidance for ‘out-of-season’ bathing in Ireland”. 

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It will involve looking at other countries’ strategies to provide recommendations on approaches Ireland should take.

It should also “review the extent of illness arising from bathers presenting at healthcare facilities and include recommendations on how the public can report issues to facilitate accurate data collection/records”.

As well as a report with recommendations, the department said it should include a short guidance document for bathers, such as a one-page infographic on what to consider before bathing.

It is expected the report should be finalised early in the new year.