Hayes calls for action on sewage crisis in Sandymount

Independent TD Eoin Hayes has called for urgent measures to be taken to protect water quality in Dublin Bay. 

A recent announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency banned swimming at Sandymount Strand for the 2025 bathing season due to the dumping of raw sewage into the sea.

Hayes said that practice is  “unsustainable” and is having an “unacceptable impact on local residents and swimmers from across the city.”

Capacity issues at the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment site, which processes 40% of the country’s wastewater, means that raw sewage is often dumped into the sea.

The Dublin Bay South TD said, “what was a growing problem over many years has become a full-blown sewage crisis”

“The effects of raw sewage discharges on the water quality are environmentally disastrous and becoming increasingly entrenched. This is the second year in a row that a whole-season ban has been announced. The environment is not just unsafe for swimmers, but also for people using the beach and the local area”, Hayes said.

“I’ve spoken to residents who have told me about the smell, the lingering debris and human waste that accompany these discharges at Sandymount. How can we expect anyone to put up with this in a modern capital city?”

Describing Dublin Bay as “one of the jewels” of Dublin, Hayes said it was government neglect which has led to the issue spiralling. 

“To have the state and sequential governments not adequately protect it is an ecological and public neglect of the most severe order,” he said.

Hayes blamed the problem on the government’s failure to provide the necessary funding to Uisce Éireann.

“There is a serious issue with how the government is resourcing Uisce Éireann and planning for strategic infrastructure development more generally,” he noted.

“The problems we see at Sandymount are a direct result of a lack of strategic planning and investment over the last decade. There is no sign that this government has changed its approach, which means we can only expect these infrastructure problems to get worse.”

He said the problems at Sandymount are emblematic of a larger problem with Ireland’s style of governance.

“The government’s recent track record has been to mislead the public about the level of funding it is providing in this area, announcing €1 billion for Uisce Éireann that turned out not to be additional funding at all – it provided no extra financing whatsoever,” he pointed out.

“While the delivery of more treatment facilities is essential, we cannot continue to see the pumping of toxic waste into Dublin Bay – interim measures to protect Sandymount Strand and Dublin Bay more broadly have to be explored while GDD is being developed. I am calling on the government to urgently accelerate the delivery of the water infrastructure schemes by any means necessary.”