THREE Irish bathing beaches failed last year to reach minimum EU health standards Bray, Co Wicklow, Coolmaine, Co Cork, and Castlerock, Co Derry according to the annual European Commission report on bathing standards.
Of the 130 Irish beaches surveyed, however, 98 per cent reached EU standards, with 88 per cent winning the tougher accolade of "good quality" water.
The Irish non compliance rate has fallen from 5.6 per cent of beaches in 1992 to 1.9 per cent in 1995.
But the Commission's report is not such good news for many of the member states of the 18,000 beaches surveyed throughout the Union some 3,000 either fail to meet adequate standards or are in sufficiently monitored, 10 years after the ratification of the bathing water directive.
Yesterday the Commissioner for the Environment, Ms Ritt Bjerregaard, said the Commission would he insisting that Italy, Spain, Germany and Belgium come up with clean up plans in the near future or face prosecution in the European Court of Justice.
Altogether, some 12 per cent of Germany's sea beaches and 10 per cent of its freshwater beaches are below minimum standards. In Portugal's case, one fifth of sea beaches are contaminated. Spain fares particularly badly with its inland bathing, with one third of sites below standards.
All nine inland sites surveyed in the Republic, five of them on Lough Derg on the Shannon, meet minimum standards, but the failure of the British authorities to notify any inland bathing sites, due to a loose interpretation of the directive, means comparative figures for the North are not available.
Ms Bjerregaard said she was concerned at Britain's non-notification in this area and would be asking the authorities there for more information on the issue. She appealed to non governmental organisations and individuals who are aware of regularly used unlisted beaches to notify the Commission's local office and the environment directorate in Brussels.
Of those Irish beaches meeting minimum but not the highest standards, four are in Co Clare (Spanish Point, White Strand at Miltown Malbay, Kilkee and Lahinch) while three are in Co Dublin (Portmarnock, Sutton and Dollymount). Garretstown, Co Cork, and both Salthill and Clifden, Co Galway, also fail to reach the highest standards.
England's black spot remains the north west coast, with three out of four Blackpool beaches, three out of five Barrow beaches, and both Morecambe beaches failing to meet minimum standards.
