28 years in a row for Bundoran’s Blue Flag Beach

1^st June 2015 – At a ceremony in Ballinskelligs, County Kerry, Bundoran’s Main Beach has once again been awarded the Blue Flag ensuring bathers a safe and clean environment in which to swim and enjoy one of the seaside town’s top free amenities. County Donegal again retained its 13 Blue Flags and shares the rankings with County Kerry having the most Blue Flags in the country.

The Blue Flag is one of the world’s most recognised eco-labels and only beaches that meet specific criteria relating to water quality, beach management, environmental information and safety services achieve this accolade. The Main Beach in Bundoran has been awarded the Blue Flag for each of the 28 years that the system has been in place. The flag was presented by Mr. Alan Kelly TD, Minister for the Environment, Community & Local Government.

Bundoran Tourism Officer Shane Smyth said ‘I’m delighted that once again the Main Beach has been passed fully compliant with water quality and other standards this year. When people see the Blue Flag flying they can be assured that the beach and water has undergone and passed stringent testing. It is vital that visitors to Bundoran and locals alike can be assured that they have a safe and pleasant place to bathe and to enjoy the fabulous amenities that Main Beach offers. I’d like to pay tribute to the council workers who work year round to make sure that the beach is kept up to Blue Flag standard – without them we would not be celebrating our 28^th year of having a Blue Flag.

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Seamus Neely, Chief Executive of Donegal County Council commented “At a time when the Council is actively promoting Donegal as a tourism destination, having the highest number of Blue Flags can only assist in promoting Donegal as an excellent destination for visitors. The Blue Flag Award is the definitive international beach award recognised in 46 countries as an assurance of beach cleanliness and safety. As a pre-requisite the bathing water at Blue Flag beaches must meet the highest standards of bathing water quality.”

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The classification of the bathing water is now based on water samples from a four year period instead of the monitoring results from a single bathing season, and gives stronger focus to the protection of public health and promotes a proactive approach to the management of bathing water quality.

For more on the Blue Flag system check out Blue Flag Ireland Website

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