Blue flag awards - We all need to clean up our act

THE 83 blue flags awarded to 80 bathing areas and three marinas scattered around our 1,448 kilometres of coastline should be welcomed.

But it is absurd to tout this as a record because it is one less than the number of blue flags awarded to this country last year.

The blue flag is the prestigious international scheme introduced to assure tourists that the water quality, facilities, and safety of particular areas are of the highest quality. Over the years this has acted as an incentive for local communities to improve the quality of their beaches and marinas.

Environment Minister Dick Roche spoke with regret that Dollymount Strand in Dublin lost its blue flag due to pollution, and Enniscrone, Co Sligo, lost out due to the quality of its water, while other areas failed on environmental management or safety issues.

Tourism is important to our economy, but our environment should be of even greater interest to our own people, because we don’t just visit. We live here year round.

The problems with the drinking water in Galway were a reminder that the quality of even our most common commodity, water, cannot be taken for granted. Everybody has a responsibility to do their bit to clean up our environment from the Taoiseach, to the men, women and children in the streets.