Council proposal to ban beach angling condemned as 'idiotic' and 'draconian.'

Richard Boyd Barrett of the People Before Profit Alliance in Dun Laoghaire has condemned as “ridiculous” the proposal by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council to ban angling on the county's beaches.

The proposed ban is contained in a new set of draft by-laws for the county's beaches currently being considered by the Council.

The new by-laws propose to ban angling on all the counties beaches and restrict it to Bullock and Colimore harbours only.

 Richard Boyd Barrett said:

“This is an absolutely ridiculous proposal. People have been fishing from places like Killiney beach and White Rock for as long as anyone can remember. Beach angling is an important pastime for many people in this area and our beaches also attract anglers from elsewhere in the city and, indeed, abroad. It is one of the great advantages of living on the coast and having the beaches we have that people can engage in this traditional pastime.

 Also, how can such a ban be squared with the constant complaints we hear about young people drinking too much when at the same time the council are planning to take away important alterative form of recreation? Surely, we should want to encourage harmless outdoor pastimes like fishing.

To my knowledge there is no history of serious accidents or conflict between swimmers and anglers that would justify a draconian ban like this.

 Given the stupidity of this proposal, one might be led to think there is another undeclared motive at work here. Could it be that by restricting beach fishing to designated areas and making it subject to Council control that the Council is preparing the ground to charge people for the right to fish in the not too distant future? With charges being introduced and ratcheted up for just about everything by the Council these days it would not surprise me if this was the case.

 In any event, the Council should drop this idiotic plan and concern it self instead with improving our beach and seafront amenities. Restoring facilities like the baths and the Killiney beach tea-rooms and providing public toilets would do far more to encourage greater public use of our seafront and beach amenities that this misconceived ban.”