Large crowds of people took advantage of the rare spell of fine weather to visit the beaches and sunbathe only to find the city beaches in a “filthy condition”.
This is the view of Independent councillor Terry O’Flaherty who has hit out at the Galway City Council regarding the state of the beaches.
“It was a disgrace that large numbers of children and adults had to sunbathe where there was large amounts of seaweed left strewn around not collected,” she said. “This is unacceptable and should not be tolerated.”
When seaweed is left for too long, it can emit a foul smell, which becomes worse in warm weather.
She said this was the first time in three months that people have had an opportunity to sunbathe and because Met Éireann had forecast the good weather, the city council “should have been well aware” that the beaches were going to be very busy and should have cleared away the seaweed.
“It is very rare that we have the opportunity to enjoy our city beaches, particularly with the bad weather,” she said. “The city council should have ensured the beaches were cleaned and properly maintained.”
