Wexford lobby groups are calling for an investigation following the closure of Wexford beaches during peak season.
Wexford County Council issued three no-swim notices for Ballymoney Beach during the 2025 bathing season due to elevated bacteria levels.
Morriscastle Beach in Kilmuckridge received no-swim warnings in July and August 2025, affecting visitors during peak summer months.
Councillors at the September 2025 Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District meeting requested evidence on contamination sources from upstream waterways.
Local businesses reported losses as blue flag beaches serve as key attractions for summer tourism in north Wexford.
Further samples lifted bans by early September 2025, though questions remained on notice dissemination to day-trippers from neighbouring counties.
Joe Sullivan shared “Our blue flag beaches are our sales pitch, they are a source of tourism and income for our economy, we have a responsibility to make sure they are of the requisite quality. What’s the blue flag status of the beach at Ballymoney? There were three no-swim notices issued there, do we have the findings of those yet? The water was contaminated on three occasions.”.
Darragh McDonald shared “I was told the investigations only include testing the waterways and that the engineers didn’t look further up stream, I don’t think that’s acceptable.”.
Mary Farrell shared “Simply saying there’s a no-swim notice in the height of the summer season when you have thousands of people wanting to come and experience our beaches is not good enough. How do people coming from neighbouring counties know there’s a no-swim notice? The local people will hear about it but those coming for a day-trip won’t. We need to know why this is happening and where the problems are coming from, because this is too common an occurrence. How far does the no-swim notice extend? I’ve had people ask me if they can just go and swim in the neighbouring beaches instead. If you can’t swim in one body of water can you swim in the next?”.
