An Independent councillor has criticised Galway City Council over its handling of reported heavy metal contamination at South Park on the Claddagh.
The park was closed last night by the council as a precautionary measure. South Park, also known as "the swamp", is a popular public amenity and sporting area in Galway city.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) West is advising the public not to collect or eat shellfish from the Claddagh area as a precautionary measure, pending the analysis of shellfish samples.
The HSE West and the local authority are conducting separate soil assessments after a postgraduate student at NUI Galway detected contaminants during research. The student contacted the local authority and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a personal capacity.
Cllr Catherine Connolly (Ind) said the information on the contamination was contained in one paragraph that was "hidden" in a report given to the local authority last night on recreational and cultural facilities. In response to her questions, the meeting was told the council had discussed the issue with the EPA and commissioned an independent analysis.
Ms Connolly said it was unclear how long the council had been in possession of this "damning information", and she expressed anger it was not given to councillors and residents.
The council had held regular meetings with the Claddagh Residents' Association in relation to the development of South Park, and "never once did the director of services mention any difficulties", she said. .
The HSE said yesterday it was recommending that the council take action to safeguard the health of the public and extend the scope of the new site-specific analysis, commissioned by the council, to the playground and residential area around the park.
"While HSE West acknowledges and understands that the public may be concerned about the possible health implications of these initial findings, it has no evidence to date of adverse health effects and is satisfied the current measures are sufficient to protect public health," it said.