'Incredibly dangerous' to give Kildare swimming spot official status

A debate took place in the chamber of Áras chill Dara over swimming in the River Liffey at Yeomanstown, Caragh, with a council official saying it would be “incredibly irresponsible” to designate the location as an official bathing area after a report described it as a “dangerous location”.

Fianna Fáil councillors Noel Heavey and Rob Power brought forward a motion at the most recent meeting of Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District proposing ‘that the council issues a report on how improvements to safety and access to and from River Liffey could be provided for local swimmers at Yeomanstown near Victoria Bridge’.

Cllrs Brian O’Loughlin and Tom McDonell expressed support for the motion.

Sports Partnership Coordinator Syl Merrins issued the council’s response, which outlined that several factors would need to be considered before the council could grant official bathing status to the location. These include the facilities available at the site, site accessibility, site capacity and usage levels, emergency access and response, lifeguard provision and safety concerns such as river currents, water quality, road infrastructure and safe access for pedestrians and cyclists. The report noted there is currently no funding in place for the proposal and it is not included in the council’s capital programme.

The report also highlighted concerns raised by Water Safety Ireland, including strong river currents, changing water levels, and the impact of water releases from Poulaphouca Reservoir following heavy rainfall. The council’s response noted that climate change is likely to bring more intense rainfall events, increasing the risks associated with swimming in the Liffey, and pointed out that freshwater swimming can often be more dangerous than sea swimming. 

The council plans to install additional ‘No Swimming’ signs and is encouraging people not to swim at the location. It is willing to seek a formal risk assessment from Water Safety Ireland, but its’ current view is that swimming at Yeomanstown should be discouraged on safety grounds as it is a “dangerous location”.

Cllr Heavey said the report was overly negative and highlighted a lack of swimming amenities in the Newbridge area.

Cllr Power said he appreciated that the council had it’s “water safety hat on” but disagreed with what he described as an “all duck or no dinner” approach from the local authority.

Cllr Power added that people tend to swim in the weir rather than the river. He wants the location to be made safer “for people who are going to use it anyway’.

Council official Tony Shanahan said it would be “incredibly irresponsible” to begin the process of designating Yeomanstown as an official bathing area. He noted the recent tragedy in Westmeath where a 15-year-old boy died after getting into difficulty in Lough Ree. He said that there is no system for raising the alarm in the Newbridge area when flows from Poulaphouca Reservoir increase. He also described the instances of life buoy theft in Kildare as “sickening” and “disgraceful”.

Senior executive officer Mark McLoughlin said that the transport section is opposed to measures that would encourage people to park at the location. Cllr Power argued that “we perhaps don’t need car parking there” as people can walk to the site.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme