The largest Aran Island is polluted with raw sewage, causing major inconvenience to both locals and visitors, local residents have claimed. Residents of Cill Rónáin, Inis Mór have now appealed to Galway City Council and to the TDs in Galway West for the installation of new public toilets on the pier. With the tourist season soon to come, this installation will benefit both tourists and residents alike.
Irish waters are flooded with raw sewage. It sinks into groundwater and contaminates surface waters, leaving us with the highest cryptosporidiosis infection rate in Europe. In Inis Mór, the conditions of the public toilets are particularly dire. The outfall from the septic tank and outflow pipe has been described as a “cess pool” and a “Public health hazard”, only feet away from part of Inis Mór Special Area of Conservation.
On top of this, if it rains hard enough, and there are many tourists, raw sewage runs down the main road. The lack of suitable public toilets on the pier is also a major problem for ferry passengers, who have to struggle when waiting for the ferry.
Thankfully, after years of neglect, a legal initiative is finally being undertaken. Residents of Cill Rónáin are requesting Galway County Council to close the current public toilets and install welfare units on the pier. This would enable the council to reduce the continuous flow of untreated sewage and start regularising the unauthorised connections to the system that have been permitted over the years.
Looking forward, the provision of new, suitable public toilets in Cill Rónáin would commence the development of a plan for sustainable tourism for the Aran Islands. This would also show commitment on part of Galway County Council to solving Inis Mór’s sewage pollution. After a particularly rough two years for the tourism industry, the Aran Islands need to be adequately prepared to welcome the surge of tourists that are expected to finally arrive in the summer months.
