Illegal camping on Achill Island putting ‘Blue Flag status at risk’
Mayo must draw up a clear plan to cater for the growing number of camper vans visiting the county's beaches, a council meeting has heard.
The increasing number of tourists presents a significant opportunity for Mayo, but it also poses a challenge in providing the proper facilities to accommodate them.
This challenge is already visible, with reports of wild camping along Achill Island's Blue Flag beaches raising concerns that their status could be at risk.
At the most recent meeting of the Westport and Belmullet Municipal District, councillors highlighted the lack of byelaws, enforcement, and infrastructure to address the issue.
Cllr Paul McNamara, who raised the matter, asked what byelaws currently apply to Mayo's beaches, who enforces them, and whether there are future plans to address the rise in camper van numbers.
"We are seeing an awful lot more camper vans, and I want to make it clear that we love them coming to the area, but we haven't done anything to facilitate them in Achill or Mulranny," he said.
Currently, Achill Island has three campsites, two in Keel and one in Dugort, along with a designated area in Achill Sound that caters for overnight parking and provides essential facilities.
Reports state that since Covid the number of registered camper vans across Ireland has jumped from 12,000 to over 20,000.
Cllr McNamara said he was positive that the number of camper vans coming into Achill had quadrupled since the pandemic.
"It's great to see them coming, but we have to provide proper facilities, proper parking, and proper facilities where they can get rid of their waste,
"If we continue to ignore this situation we are getting ourselves into, particularly in tourist areas, we will end up losing our Blue Flag beaches," he warned.
Cllr McNamara also pointed to complaints following the recent 'Battle for the Lake' event.
Following the event, he received several emails from campers in Keel reporting that they were unable to sleep due to loud music from wild campers outside the campsite throughout the night.
"You can't have 20 or 30 camper vans parked along Blue Flag Beach and staying overnight," he said, pointing out that the Keel campsite was only a third full while visitors chose to camp illegally nearby.
Cathaoirleach Peter Flynn agreed with his colleague and called for the matter to be added to an upcoming special meeting of the municipal council.
The meeting was originally convened to discuss illegal parking on Roman Island in Westport. It will now also include a discussion on beach byelaws and camper van facilities in the area.
"It's a huge opportunity, but it's a huge challenge as well," Cllr Flynn said, "we have to move as a local authority with the times. It's a massive industry."
No date has yet been set for the meeting, but councillors agreed that the discussion must include both enforcement and long-term planning.
"These people are investing in and coming to the tourist destinations, and they have to be catered for," said Cllr McNamara.
"We need to know where we stand when it comes to byelaws, and we also need to have a vision and a plan on how to cater for the ever-changing tourism industry,
"We have an obligation as a council to put a plan in place," he added.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.