A consultation on the future policy and legislative arrangements for Northern Ireland’s bathing waters is entering its final full week, with responses due to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs by 5pm on Friday 21 August.
The review covers the way bathing waters are identified, monitored and managed. DAERA has set out eight policy proposals as part of the exercise, which remains open for comment before the deadline later this month. The proposals are not adopted changes.
Northern Ireland has 33 identified bathing waters, according to the department. Those locations form the current basis for the bathing-water arrangements being examined through the review of policy and legislation. The consultation concerns the framework that applies to those waters.
The present bathing season runs from 1 June until 15 September. The consultation is therefore taking place while the 2026 season is under way, although the department’s exercise is concerned with future policy and legislative arrangements rather than an alteration already in force this summer.
Identification, monitoring and management are the three main parts of the system under consideration. The consultation seeks views on how the framework should operate across each of those areas, with eight proposals presented by DAERA for consideration.
The department has not announced a final policy outcome. Any changes to the arrangements for Northern Ireland’s identified bathing waters would follow the consultation process, rather than arising simply from the publication of the eight proposals.
People wishing to take part have until the 5pm deadline on 21 August to provide their views to DAERA. The consultation is the department’s current opportunity to gather responses on the policy and legislative review before decisions are taken on its proposals.