Dublin councils are on standby for litter problems at beaches throughout the county as the fine weather sees sunseekers flock to the coast.

Fingal, Dun Loaghaire Rathdown and Dublin city councils are gearing up to prevent a repeat of the June bank holiday, when county councils struggled to cope with the huge number of tin cans, broken bottles and rubbish left behind.

Fingal County Council, which manages nine beaches in North Dublin, is this weekend urging the public to take their rubbish with them when they leave.

A spokesperson for the council said: "If drink and food containers and other picnic-related waste can be brought to our beaches, they can just as easily be brought away again for proper disposal.

"There is no excuse for anyone to leave litter behind after a day at the beach and doing so spoils future visits for them and for others."

She added that Fingal County Council carries out regular cleanups on the beaches, and it provides extra rubbish bins.

"Our litter wardens patrol the beaches as well as our towns and villages issuing fines to any people caught littering", she said.

"We are managing our cleaning schedules on reduced resources and are prioritising our resources at the busiest times and at the busiest locations".

Dublin City Council manages and maintains three beaches -- Dollymount, Sandymount and Shelly Banks. It plans to manage staffing to coincide with the volumes of people going to the beach this weekend.

Ban

A spokesperson for the council says signs are also located at these beaches asking the public to clean up.

"Huge numbers of people flocked to the beaches over the June weekend and extra cleaning crews were deployed as a result. The council will monitor the situation over the coming days."

However, he added: "There's a ban on overtime at the moment, so its a matter of managing resources.

He said that while Dollymount strand was not clean while crowds were still there on the bank holiday, it was cleaned the next day.

"Dollymount strand on the bank holiday Monday had over 10,000 people on it. You can't go in and clean while people are there ... there's a health and safety issue there".

Dun Loaghaire Rathdown, which looks after sun spots such as Kiliney beach, says it will be ensuring its beaches are maintained to the highest possible standard.

A spokeswoman from the council said: "We are satisfied that there are an adequate number of bins on our beaches, however, we encourage all visitors to take their rubbish home with them, particularly during periods."

She added: "Each summer the council ensures that there are adequate numbers of beach maintenance staff to cope with the demands of the summer period."

hnews@herald.ie

- Geraldine Gittens