The OEP Report on Bathing Waters in Northern Ireland

DAERA Minister Andrew Muir has welcomed the latest report by the Office of Environmental Protection (OEP) confirming that Bathing Water Regulations are being implemented fully and improvements have been made.

The OEP's report - A Review of Implementation of the Bathing Water Regulations in Northern Ireland, also makes recommendations for the future direction in managing bathing waters.

In responding to the Review, Minister Muir said: "I welcome the OEP's Report and I am pleased that it finds my Department is implementing the Bathing Water Regulations effectively. It is good the Report recognises the improvements that have been achieved in bathing water quality since the 1990s and I was delighted to announce the 2024 results some weeks ago showing a high level of compliance with the standards."

The OEP Review makes far-reaching policy recommendations for the management of bathing waters in both Northern Ireland and in a separate review covering England where the OEP also has jurisdiction.

In reacting to the 11 recommendations for Northern Ireland, Minister Muir said: "Some of the recommendations made are already under consideration, like the extension of the current bathing season, and we are currently collecting data to inform future policy direction. I welcome the discussion around these matters and the renewed focus of so many on improving water quality. I agree there is more we can do together to improve bathing water quality, and the OEP report is a useful and constructive contribution. We can only protect bathing waters and public health by making sure that appropriate measures are implemented in catchments. I recognise that a source to sea approach is critical and will work across all sectors to secure improvements in water quality."

The Department has three months to respond to the Review and has also received a related Report from the OEP on River Basin Management Planning. Given the wide-ranging recommendations of both of the interlinked reports, the Minister will take this time to consider fully and respond.

Notes to editors:

1. When the 2024 bathing water results are included in the statistics, the overall compliance at the 26 identified sites is that 22 bathing waters are classified as 'Excellent', a prerequisite for the coveted Blue Flag Award and the highest water quality standard, an increase from 18 in 2023. 2 have met the 'Good' standard and 2 met the 'Sufficient' standard. No bathing water failed to meet the minimum standard.
2. Of the candidate sites, which have been measured using 2 years of monitoring rather than the recommended 4 years, 1 was classified as 'Excellent', 2 as 'Good', 3 at Sufficient. Only 1 site failed to meet the minimum standards at Rea's Wood, Antrim and unfortunately, as with 2023, this season was also dominated by coverage of the blue-green algae events in Lough Neagh impacting the Rea's Wood site.
3. The Minister and Executive have committed to tackling the issues and have published an Action Plan to clean up Lough Neagh. Part of this is to ensure clearer messaging to the public about the risks and this year for the first time we implemented the Inter-Agency Monitoring Protocol for Blue Green algae that has helped inform and advise bathing water users.
4. Follow DAERA on X formerly called Twitter and Facebook.
5. All media queries should be directed to the DAERA Press Office: [email protected] or telephone: 028 9016 3460.
6. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours' service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

Share this page