{"id":18253,"date":"2026-06-10T16:57:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T15:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/?p=18253"},"modified":"2026-06-10T16:57:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T15:57:50","slug":"uisce-eireann-has-questions-to-answer-as-60-day-swim-ban-takes-effect-at-two-dublin-beaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/ga\/uisce-eireann-has-questions-to-answer-as-60-day-swim-ban-takes-effect-at-two-dublin-beaches\/","title":{"rendered":"Uisce \u00c9ireann has questions to answer as 60-day swim ban takes effect at two Dublin beaches"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore has demanded a full explanation from Uisce \u00c9ireann after a 60-day \u2018Do Not Swim\u2019 notice came into effect at two popular beaches in north county Dublin due to a sewage pump failure.<\/p>\n<p>Deputy Whitmore, who is the party\u2019s environment spokesperson, said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFingal County Council has announced that Rush North and Rush South beaches will be closed to swimming for most of the summer \u2013 just days after the official bathing season commenced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe restrictions came into force after two pumps tripped out at the Tower Bay wastewater pumping station a number of days ago. It\u2019s understood it was not possible to reset one of the pumps, requiring a new one to be ordered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever, Uisce \u00c9ireann has advised that there is a long lead-in time for the replacement pump, with delivery and installation not expected until the end of July. While the company insists there has been no uncontrolled release into the sea so far, there is potential for one \u2013 resulting in the implementation of a two-month Do Not Swim notice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvestigations indicate the failure was due to wear and tear, which begs the obvious question: why was this potential problem not identified earlier during routine inspections of the pumping station? This could have preempted the current situation and resulted in a replacement pump being ordered as a precautionary measure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is devastating news for local sea swimmers in Rush and the many visitors who travel to these two popular beaches on sunny days. The loss of these valuable amenities will also have a negative impact on the many local coffee shops, restaurants and pubs that depend on tourism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf major concern, however, is the potential for sewage overflow into the sea and the significant consequences such an ecological disaster would have for marine life, public health and the local environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will be writing to Uisce \u00c9ireann to demand a full explanation for how this disgraceful situation could occur, and for a full assessment of the condition of equipment at wastewater pumping stations along our coastline to be carried out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have also asked Social Democrats councillor Paul Mulville, who represents Rush-Lusk, to raise this extremely serious incident with Fingal County Council.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>June 10, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore has demanded a full explanation from Uisce \u00c9ireann after a 60-day \u2018Do Not Swim\u2019 notice came into effect at two popular beaches in north county Dublin due to a sewage pump failure. Deputy Whitmore, who is the party\u2019s environment spokesperson, said: \u201cFingal County Council has announced that Rush North and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11226,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[727,268,720,402,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-jennifer-whitmore","category-marine","category-paul-mulville","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Uisce \u00c9ireann has questions to answer as 60-day swim ban takes effect at two Dublin beaches - Social Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/uisce-eireann-has-questions-to-answer-as-60-day-swim-ban-takes-effect-at-two-dublin-beaches\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ga_IE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Uisce \u00c9ireann has questions to answer as 60-day swim ban takes effect at two Dublin beaches - Social Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore has demanded a full explanation from Uisce \u00c9ireann after a 60-day \u2018Do Not Swim\u2019 notice came into effect at two popular beaches in north county Dublin due to a sewage pump failure. 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