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ONLY ONE OF Ireland’s 153 bathing sites was classified as “poor” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year.

The classification of Dún Laoghaire Baths in south county Dublin was caused by wastewater overflows and dog fouling, the EPA said. It’s the baths’ first classification.

The agency today released its report into the quality of bathing water in Ireland in 2025. It urged local authorities to adopt climate-resilient approaches to manage pressures facing these waters.

Last year, 98% of sites – or 150 of the 153 – met or exceeded the minimum required standard.

Of these, 120 were classified as “excellent”. It’s a slight drop on 122 in 2024.

The local authority responsible for Dún Laoghaire Baths, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, has produced a management plan to improve the water quality at this location.

The Dún Laoghaire Baths, described by the council as “iconic”, were originally built in 1843 by a private enterprise and later purchased by the Urban District Council in 1896 for public use.

The baths closed for “significant redevelopment” and reopened in December 2022.

The works included the refurbishment of the baths’ pavilion, the construction of a new 35m jetty with built-in seating, and the installation of the Roger Casement statue, among others.

The baths facilitate swimming, water sports, and events.

The two “poor” sites from 2024, Sandymount beach in Dublin and Lady’s Bay in Buncrana, Donegal, improved and met the minimum required standard in 2025.

The EPA said heavy rainfall events “are becoming more frequent during the bathing season, with an increased risk of contamination from wastewater, urban and agricultural sources”.

The number of bathing water warnings, issued before heavy rainfall and designed to protect bathers’ health, nearly doubled in 2025. The heavy rainfall events resulted increased run-off from multiple sources.

The EPA said incidents arising from urban wastewater were the most frequently reported cause of bathing water issues by local authorities. These incidents led to temporary beach closures and restrictions throughout the season.

“Run-off 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.”

Roni Hawe, director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment, said the agency is pleased that overall, the quality of bathing waters remained high, but said the increasing number of rainfall events “highlights an increased risk to people’s health when swimming after heavy rainfall”.

“These conditions can result in short‐term pollution which must be effectively managed if current high standards are to be maintained into the future,” she continued.

“Local authorities need to strengthen their understanding of rainfall‐related pressures and put appropriate, climate-resilient measures in place to protect bather health.”

Aside from Dún Laoghaire Baths, one other new bathing water was officially identified in 2025: Belmullet Tide Pool in Co Mayo.

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.

Uisce Éireann’s wastewater compliance senior manager Niall Horgan said the EPA’s findings highlight to positive outcomes of sustained investment in wastewater infrastructure.

Horgan said this is particularly evident in communities where untreated discharges have been eliminated.

“Since 2014, Uisce Éireann has removed approximately 85% of raw sewage discharges nationwide, delivering real environmental benefits,” he continued.

‘Look past headline figures’

However, the Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) said the EPA report “does not reflect the reality experienced at Ireland’s swimming spots throughout the year”.

It said there is a need to “look past the headline figures and focus on year-round water quality at swimming spots”.

SWAN noted that close to half of Ireland’s monitored bathing waters experienced swimming restrictions or warnings during the 2025 bathing season, with many of these restrictions due to pollution.

It added since most swimming spots are not monitored between September and May, there are no pollution warnings given in this period, which further places swimmers’ health at risk “given the growing popularity of year-round swimming”.

Puneeta Sreenivas, SWAN’s Freshwater Policy Officer said: “The EPA’s headline figures can give the impression that most bathing waters in Ireland are consistently clean, but they don’t tell the full story.”

Sreenivas added that an “Excellent” rating is “no guarantee that the water is always clean or safe to swim in” as classifications are based on samples collected over a four-year assessment period.

“This means that short-term pollution events can still occur, even at highly rated sites,” said Sreenivas.

SWAN said its analysis found that close to 40% of sites rated “Excellent” last year still experienced temporary restrictions or pollution warnings during the year.  

SWAN called for “stronger government action, such as accelerating upgrades to wastewater treatment and stronger measures to reduce agricultural pollution at source”.

It added that monitoring of bathing waters should be done outside of the bathing season to protect year-round swimmers and recreational water users.