Dún Laoghaire Baths, one of the State’s newest official bathing areas, has failed water quality testing and will be closed to sea swimmers this summer.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the ‘poor’ classification at Dún Laoghaire Baths in south Dublin was caused by wastewater overflows and dog fouling.
It confirmed this in its national bathing water quality report published this week, which found it was the only one of 153 popular swimming beaches, lakes and urban coves monitored by the EPA which failed to meet the minimum standards in tests carried out over the official bathing season.
In a warning to sea swimmers, the EPA says intense rainfall events occurred more frequently and across the entire bathing season in 2025, resulting in increased runoff from multiple sources.
The EPA found that almost half of the 153 sites were under bathing restrictions or precautionary warnings for a period due to pollution concerns during last year’s season.
Dún Laoghaire Baths and Belmullet Tidal Pool in north Mayo were identified in 2025 as two new bathing waters.
Dún Laoghaire Baths received its first classification in 2025, while Belmullet Tidal Pool requires at least one more season of sampling before classification can be assigned.
The EPA says that Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has produced a management plan which outlines actions to manage pressures and improve bathing water quality at this location.
Targeted actions by Uisce Eireann and the local authorities at Lady’s Bay, Buncrana Co Donegal, and Sandymount Strand in south Dublin has led to improvements in bathing water quality for 2025, it says.
“Actions included investigation of pollution sources and upgrades to wastewater infrastructure at these two locations,”it says.
The EPA Bathing Water Quality in Ireland report for 2025 found most bathing waters were of a high standard, with 78 per cent of bathing sites have “excellent” water quality while 98 per cent meet or exceed the minimum standard of “sufficient”..
Incidents arising from urban wastewater were the most frequently reported cause of bathing water issues by local authorities, leading to temporary beach closures and restrictions throughout the season.
Runoff from agricultural land, dog fouling and misconnections (where wastewater from homes or businesses is wrongly connected to rainwater drains) also contributed to bathing water quality issues.
It says the number of bathing water warnings, issued prior to heavy rainfall and designed to protect bather’s health, nearly doubled in 2025.
Commenting on the report, Roni Hawe, Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment, said the EPA was “pleased to report that bathing waters continued to achieve a high standard of quality nationally in 2025”.
“However, the greater frequency of heavy rainfall events throughout the bathing season highlights an increased risk to people’s health when swimming after heavy rainfall,”Hawe said.
“These conditions can result in short‑term pollution which must be effectively managed if current high standards are to be maintained into the future. Local authorities need to strengthen their understanding of rainfall‑related pressures and put appropriate, climate-resilient measures in place to protect bather health”.
Throughout the bathing water season (1st June to 15th September), water quality information and details of any incidents affecting bathing waters are displayed on the www.beaches.ie website.
Some local authorities also carry out water quality monitoring outside the bathing water season and where available, these data are also shared on beaches.ie for information purposes.
Swimmers should always check www.beaches.ie, and the signage at the beach, for the latest water quality information. Swimmers should remember to follow the 48 hour rule which is to avoid contact with open water for at least 48 hours after heavy rainfall to protect health.
The report Bathing Water Quality in Ireland 2025 is now available on the EPA website.
As Afloat reported previously, a pilot public information project on bathing water quality has been installed at Dún Laoghaire Baths.
