Two new bathing waters, Carrigaholt and Quilty, both in County Clare, were identified last year.
96 percent of Ireland's bathing waters are meeting the EU's minimum standards.
The Environmental Protection Agency's annual report shows 111 out of 148 were deemed "excellent" in 2020 - an increase of four on 2019.
From our #bathingwater report 2020, 96% of Irish bathing waters met or exceeded the minimum required standard. This is up from 95% in 2019.
— EPA Ireland (@EPAIreland) May 12, 2021
111 (75%) bathing waters were classified as ‘Excellent’, up from 107 in 2019.
Read the full report here: https://t.co/oWKYP1Q8IU pic.twitter.com/E9h6gtqOBs
Two beaches with "poor" water quality in 2019 have improved - they're Ballyloughane Beach in Co Galway and Brook Beach in Portrane, Dublin.
While two new bathing waters, Carrigaholt and Quilty, both in County Clare, were identified last year.
Mary Gurrie of the EPA says four locations are classified as having "poor" water quality:
Two new Irish bathing waters were identified in 2020 and will be classified for the first time following the 2021 season. They are Carrigaholt and Quilty, both in Co. Clare.
— EPA Ireland (@EPAIreland) May 12, 2021
Read the full #bathingwater report 2020 here: https://t.co/mrxftoSGAT pic.twitter.com/ShX343Zx83
The EPA found water quality is continuing to improve, but, Mary Gurrie says there's two big culprits when it comes to pollution:

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