Visitor awards Blue Flag beach several black marks for lack of facilities

WHAT could one have to complain about after the most glorious Whit weekend in recent memory?

Met Eireann got the forecast right and those of us lucky enough to avail of seaside amenities across the country basked in the sunshine and had a most enjoyable time.

Unless, of course, you happened to pick Rossbeigh beach, Co Kerry, as your destination. It would appear that Kerry County Council has abandoned the upkeep of this beauty spot altogether.

There was no lifeguard on duty. There were no rubbish bins on the beach. In fairness to the thousands who visited every day, they did take most of their refuse home with them.

However, by Monday there was a fair amount of litter left behind.

All water taps were turned off. The toilets on the back beach were locked even though there were 21 tents on that beach on Saturday night.

The toilets at the front beach were already overflowing on Friday morning. There were no county council workers on the beach all weekend.

A locked vehicle height restriction barrier prevented buses from carrying disabled visitors onto the beach. No one had the key.

Had ambulance/fire services been needed, they would have had to cut the lock, adding precious minutes to the time to save a life.

Caravans and camper vans were parked up and down the road, leading to gridlock as well as a real danger to children who were darting from between them onto an extremely busy road.

Apparently, Kerry County Council has closed the back beach to campers this season.

But no one informed the dozens of campers who were expecting to enjoy the amenities of Rossbeigh strand as they have done for decades.

These conditions are unacceptable at a beach that was awarded Blue Flag status this week. If anyone from the judging panel had been at Rossbeigh this past weekend, I have no doubt the honour would have been rescinded.

Susan Griffin

Castlewrixon

Ballyhea

Charleville

Co Cork