A county manager yesterday backtracked on a decision to close a caravan park which threatened to pollute, and was already damaging, the sensitive dune areas on one of Kerry's best-known Blue Flag beaches, after coming under pressure from council members to reopen it.
The caravan park at Rossbeigh Spit owned by the county council was in breach of water pollution laws and EU conservation regulations, a previous meeting of the council heard. Keeping it open also interfered with Dúchas plans to reintroduce the natterjack toad to the area.
Yielding to councillors' demands, Mr Martin Nolan, the county manager, warned that the reopening of the caravan park at Rossbeigh Spit this summer season would be "an organised version of an ad-hoc arrangement".
Members yesterday argued vigorously for the upgrading of the site which, they said, had been used by generations of the same families and which should not have been closed without the agreement of the members.
Proper spacing between the caravans for fire safety reasons would have to be implemented, Mr Nolan said, and it would mean a reduction on the 70 or 90 or so units normally found there during the peak season.
The upgrading of the caravan park as it stood would cost up to €400,000, and there would be "impossible obstacles to obtaining planning permission", said Mr Oliver Ring, director of environment services.
The Rossbeigh Spit caravan park, while owned by Kerry County Council, did not have proper sewage facilities. It had far lower standards than the three well-run private caravan parks in the area and operated largely unsupervised, with no proper spacing or bay areas, a council report stated.
Dúchas had written to Kerry County Council and sought the closure of the caravan park and the removal of the toilet block. An Taisce had also expressed concern and welcomed the closure.
"Here we are, a local authority, one of the bastions of the State, perpetuating a situation which is unsatisfactory," Mr Nolan said.
Councillors including Mr Paul O'Donoghue argued vigorously the closure would be a blow to the tourist season and would discommode the park's long-standing users.