Minister O’Brien welcomes Blue Flag Awards for Fingal

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Local Fingal TD, Darragh O’Brien has welcomed the news that Portmarnock’s Velvet Strand, Rush South Beach and Balcarrick Beach in Donabate have all been awarded a Blue Flag.
Commenting Minister O’Brien said, “The Blue Flag is an international award for beach excellence and is operating in Ireland by An Taisce, with support from my Department for 35 years now. The award is presented to beaches and marinas which have excellent water quality and which achieve high standards across a wide range of other criteria including environmental education, management of the environment, safety and other services.
“Winning a Blue Flag award is a collective effort with local authorities, An Taisce, local coastal communities and other volunteers on the ground all playing their part. There are many strong advocates for each of these beaches in our community over the past number of years and we know that these awards are a fantastic vote of confidence for both the residents and visitors who enjoy these beaches.
“My Department and indeed the wider Government is committed to supporting programmes such as the Blue Flag and Green Coast Award and to building on them to achieve positive changes in environmental behaviour countrywide,” he concluded.