Council officials in Dún Laoghaire are in dispute with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the classification of local bathing waters as unfit for swimming.The EPA this week ranked the waters at Dún Laoghaire Baths as being of “poor” quality, saying bathing restrictions would apply this summer season. It came as a big disappointment after substantial investment in a new jetty and access steps allowed the popular swimming spot to be designated an official bathing area for the first time last year. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has subsequently issued a public statement saying the bathing waters were “currently rated as excellent and the location is safe for swimming”. However, the EPA has doubled down on its assessment, saying the relevant classification is “poor” which means, it said: “The water is not safe for swimming, as the site is vulnerable to pollution.” The council said it was erecting an “advisory notice” at the baths to reference the EPA assessment, but stressed this was not a prohibition notice. The EPA said it was a matter for a local authority in conjunction with the health authorities to decide whether an advisory notice or a prohibition notice was more appropriate. Despite committing to erecting the advisory notice, the council said its advice to bathers as of Friday was “to be reassured that current conditions indicate the water is safe for swimming”. [ Ireland’s newest official bathing area off limits to swimmers this summer over water pollutionOpens in new window ]The dispute centres on the timing of the water testing. Under the bathing regulations, testing in designated bathing areas is carried out from June 1st to September 15th – the official bathing season – and the results dictate the ranking for the season the following year. Dún Laoghaire had two pollution incidents last summer, resulting in the waters failing the quality test and being left with a poor ranking for this season. “The EPA issued a ‘poor’ bathing water classification for Dún Laoghaire Baths for the 2026 season, based solely on 2025 results,” the council said in a statement. “However, when assessed over the full 2023–2025 period, water quality meets ‘good’ standards, with 91 per cent of samples rated ‘excellent’. “Two isolated incidents in July 2025 led to elevated [pollution] readings but do not reflect the overall good water quality at the site.” The EPA said, however, the testing and classification system was set out in EU and national regulations, was the same one used in all EU member states and was “robust”. “The samples analysed by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown in 2023 and 2024 were not collected as per the Bathing Water Regulations, no sample calendar was scheduled and submitted to the EPA, and the EPA had no oversight of the sample collection and analysis,” it said in a statement. “These samples are inadmissible to the EU. The EPA has assessed Dún Laoghaire Baths in the same way as the other 153 bathing sites in Ireland, and all other identified bathing waters across the EU. “As Dún Laoghaire Baths received a ‘poor’ classification in 2025, it must display a bathing restriction for the 2026 season.” The EPA said an advisory notice at the site should indicate that the water may pose a health risk “and that the advice is not to swim”. While councils do not have to test water quality outside of the official bathing season, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has been taking samples in the off-season. It said all samples except one taken so far in 2026 had been “excellent” and all results were available to the public on the council website and on social media. Swimmers can also get up to date information, where it is available on the beaches.ie website.