A scheme has been launched to recover and retain the Blue Flag status at Duncannon beach in Co Wexford.

The Duncannon Blue Flag Farming and Communities Scheme will deal with pollution from both agricultural and domestic sources in order to retain the status.

This is one of 21 European Innovation Projects (EIP) or locally-led schemes funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the current Rural Development Programme. It has been allocated €550,000 under the scheme to improve the bacterial quality of the two coastal streams that flow onto Duncannon beach.

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The Department's Minister of State, Andrew Doyle TD, who officially launched the scheme, said: "One of the objectives of this scheme is to generate a greater sense of local ownership, responsibility and appreciation for the local water environment in the Duncannon area. Its implementation will, through the co-operation of all local stakeholders, ultimately bring about improved water quality and a better environment in this area."

He continued: "This is exactly the type of scheme that was envisaged when my Department chose to drive the EIP initiative under the current Rural Development Programme. It complements extremely well the many other water quality improvement projects which my Department is supporting. As with all EIP projects, the knowledge from this project will be shared, through the EIP network, with similar communities throughout Ireland and will help to improve water quality in other sensitive catchments areas."

(CM/MH)