Tracht signage is official Galway County Council Beach Management policy in pictures. The full 400M beach has been allocated to swimmers and the graphics clearly bans water sports. The signage also warns about a slipway as boats can be launched as well as asking people to wear personal floating devices. The updated bye-laws are official Galway County Council policy in words and pictures.
Water sports people are being characterised by these laws, and in the press by some parties as a nuisance, are dangerous to other users, and that we are anti-social. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is the final piece in the puzzle to wipe us out and criminalise us.
There is absolutely NO room for misinterpretation or over-interpretation. It’s an insult to our intelligence that council officials and councilors would defend the proposed official policy as such.
I, and others, have tried to engage positively with both city and county councils on these issues for nearly two years. Others have engaged with the councils in previous years to no real avail – there was always the implicit threat of being banned if we didn’t keep quiet.
We recognised the issues early on. We have been on the receiving end of abuse. Of course we recognised the issues, we have been using these beaches for decades. We submitted a Beach Management Proposal document as a template of what could be done to improve and increase safe access for all water sports on a Galway beach and to enhance the amenity. All very sensible stuff.
The Beach Management proposals could then be rolled out at other beaches. We have already done a lot of the groundwork for both County and City officials. Instead, the council have done a cut and paste job of other bye-laws and characterised the Galway proposals as the same as those in other counties. Again, this is totally untrue.
There may be similarities in some parts of the proposed bye-laws, but the biggest piece that is missing from the Galway proposal is the zoning to facilitate multi-use water sports of each of these Galway beaches. No doubt the next debate will be about what constitutes proximity by people who don’t know what they are talking about.
Soul destroying experience
In summary, it has been a soul destroying experience but we have persevered. Zoning is the first step in this whole process. Consultation is required with people who know what they are talking about.
The lack of progress by the council is often blamed on a lack of resources, turnover in staff etc. It is presented as a health and safety issue and the only solution is to ban and criminalise everything else. Dogs are more welcome than a person in a canoe with these laws.
Damian Browne would have been issued with a €1900 fine by the Gardai that rescued him from Furbo beach where he came ashore. Apparently, he was trying to get to Barna beach that night where he was trying to get to before finishing in Galway the next day - same issue there - a €1900 fine.
This whole saga has been a spectacular own goal for Galway’s national and international reputation. The consultation process was incompetent from the start. The email address quoted in the newspaper notice ([email protected] ) could only accept submissions from Council employees who had council emails. Members of the public could not submit to that address. You couldn’t make this up.
The signage in Tracht shows that Galway County Council can move quickly and does have the resources and money to communicate zoning and what is or is not allowed. They have updated the signage twice in the last two years.
Each sign getting progressively closer to the current one which bans all water sport and access other than for swimmers and dog walkers. Someone is driving this perverse policy. I also note that Tracht has lost its Blue Flag status in 2022.
The signage at Tracht and the proposed bye-laws would confirm finally that water sports enthusiasts are not paranoid.
Consequences for Wild Atlantic Way
There should be consequences for those responsible for drafting the bye-laws and those responsible for commissioning, designing, signing off, and erecting these signs at Tracht beach. There should be consequences for Galway’s inclusion in the Wild Atlantic Way if this or another flavour of these proposals are confirmed.
There should be consequences for Galway Beaches Blue Flag status that do not engage stakeholders and implement zoning for multi-use by water sports. There certainly will be consequences for businesses who depend on water sports tourism if this proceeds. So it all fails by every test you apply.
This is not a positive proposal. It does nothing for the swimming community. It does nothing for the water sports community. It will put some vulnerable users in peril by pushing them away from these managed beaches to others where they will be in danger. It does nothing for these public amenities.
It does nothing for tourism and business.The only amendments by councillors to the proposed laws at your recent meeting were to remove Sea Weed Harvesting and Shellfish picking. Proposed and seconded - Nothing else ! It’s good to go ! And just when you think people may have realised what has happened over recent weeks, three councilors vote this week against a motion to suspend proceeding with the bye-laws in favour of consultation.
Stop these bye-laws. Engage with people and organisations who understand what is needed and who have the best interests of all stakeholders at heart. Stop enabling a toxic minority from destroying these amenities and access for all. Start investing money to enhance and attract more people to water sports and Galway beaches.
Educate people about how to enjoy these beaches and water sports responsibly. Avoid conflict between citizens and don’t marginalise certain groups in favour of others. The people that care about these beaches will be there for decades and generations to come. Those that have indulged in the latest fad will move on soon enough.
We have identified ourselves as stakeholders. We want to positively engage. Stop trying to exclude and criminalise us.
