I have this motion down for the next Area Cttee on 5th May:

That the Chief Executive set out options for what can be done to tackle the serious litter problems in heavily visited areas including Howth Promenade, Portmarnock and Malahide including consideration of the following:
•Asking businesses which are selling food and drink in disposable packaging to take responsibility for the problem to which they and some of their customers are contributing, for example by emptying bins during the hours when Council workers are not working.
•Putting signs on the promenade, open space and beach asking people to return packaging to the businesses if bins are full;
•Putting bins outside the businesses which are generating the packaging;
•Extending overtime to ensure bins are emptied as late into the evening as the waste is being generated;
•Having litter wardens rostered for the times of the day and week when this problem is arising.
•Provision of compacting bins at Burrow and Claremont Beaches.

I’ve complained to the EPA that Dublin Port appears to have been dumping dredge spoil in the Bay much closer to land than it’s licence (which I objected to) allows.

The Harbourmaster and the Department of the Marine are proposing to dredge Howth Harbour and to use the material to infill behind the West Pier. These are my comments in response.

The EU is reviewing the rules on Bathing Water monitoring. I have made a submission addressing

• the ongoing failure to identify traditional and heavily used swimming locations;
• the refusal to monitor locations used for contact water sports, even where the discharge of treated effluent means there is a potential health risk to the public;
• the fact that monitoring is only over a short summer season, not throughout the year when people are actually swimming.