A total of 145 sites across the country have been recognised with Blue Flag and Green Coast awards for excellent water quality.

The announcement was made today, 20 May, revealing 88 Blue Flags and 62 Green Coast Awards were dished out. Five Ireland sites secured both awards.

The Blue Flag is an international award for beach excellence and is operating in Ireland by An Taisce. The award is presented to beaches and marinas which have excellent water quality and which achieve high standards across a wide range of other criteria including environmental education, management of the environment, safety and other services.

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The Green Coast Award is given to sites which have excellent water quality but which may be less developed and less populated than Blue Flag beaches. An important aspect of the Green Coast Awards is the involvement of Clean Coasts Volunteer Groups. There are now over 800 Coast care groups established throughout the island.

Responding to the awards, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy said: "As Minister, I am committed to working with a wide range of stakeholders to protect and improve the quality of our waters and I commend the great efforts made by Local Authorities, An Taisce, local coastal communities and other volunteers on the ground.

"My Department will continue to provide support for these programmes, which assist volunteer groups and also influences positive behaviour in relation to our marine environment."

(CM/MH)