
Wednesday October 12 2011
A DELEGATION from Greystones Swimming Group shared a number of concerns with elected members of the town council at their monthly meeting last week.
A large number of swimmers currently use the town's south beach for sea swimming but have encountered a number of health and safety issues in recent times.
Ms. Clifford said that the use of the beach by both swimmers and fishermen led to some concerns regarding fishing debris (broken lines, etc.) as well as the dangers associated with the physical act of casting off in an area where there are other people.
The close presence of fishing boats and powerboats to the shoreline was creating another danger. While bye-laws covered how far boats stayed away from the shore, it was felt that perhaps these were not clear to all boat-owners and that the setting down of marker buoys of 200m or 300m might be helpful. Finally, it was suggested that an awareness campaign in schools might deter children from littering on the beach.
Cllr. Derek Mitchell felt it should be possible for the harbour to have more control over boats, while Cllr. Stephen Stokes suggested Greystones follow Howth's lead and maybe create a dedicated angling area.
Taken from the Bray People newspaper.