A survey carried out by the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) has found that just 40% of Irish beaches reach the standards of cleanliness expected across the EU.
It found that while some popular beaches have improved over recent years, around one in three are considered littered or heavily littered.
Speaking on RTÉ's News At One, IBAL spokesperson Conor Horgan explained that although the numbers seem bleak, this is actually an improvement since the last time they carried out the survey.
He also said things are set to improve as local authorities ‘up their game’ to prepare beaches for the many people who plan to staycation this summer.
"The story is a positive one in that we've seen a welcome rise in the number of clean beaches and harbours compared to our study of 2 years ago," Horgan said.
"This is especially encouraging given the number of people who are ‘staycationing’ and availing of our coastal amenities this year.
“There is evidence that many local authorities have upped their game in terms of additional bins, facilities, and signage."
On the other hand, many areas in Ireland have worsened with the frequent use by the public amid Covid and have moved from ‘moderately littered’ to ‘littered’ status.
"The majority of these litter items are plastics, whose impact on the marine environment is a source of global concern," he said.
"Cigarette butts, for example, may appear harmless, but they are in effect a single-use plastic which poses a real danger to our sea life."
Among the beaches that were found to reach ‘clean’ standards were Brittas Bay, Curracloe, Lahinch, Clogherhead, Portmarnock, and Strandhill, however, the likes of Bundoran, Co. Mayo’s Keel, Salthill, Loughrea, and Dogs Bay in Galway were found to be littered.
The seafront in Bray was seen as one of the cleanest areas, as was Kilmore Quay and Dún Laoghaire, however, Kinsale, Bantry, and Castletownbere harbours all failed to make the list.
