The locations identified were Daingean í Daingean Chúi in County Kerry, Cuan an Mhada in County Galway, and White Bay in County Cork.

Despite these results, the majority of beaches and harbours across the country were judged to be “clean” following inspections carried out in June and July. IBAL spokesperson Conor Horgan said encouraging progress had been made in recent years.

He explained, “We’ve been monitoring our coastline for the past eight years. A few years ago, only a handful of areas could be classed as ‘clean’. This morning’s report shows that most of our beaches and harbours now meet that standard. Importantly, no sites were found to be litter black spots.”

Mr Horgan noted that this improvement came despite high visitor numbers during the summer months. He highlighted Portmarnock Beach in Dublin as a particular success story, having shifted from “littered” in the last survey to “clean” this year. Similar improvements were also recorded at Blackrock Castle and Castletownbere in Cork.

The most common litter items found were sweet wrappers, plastic bottles, and drink cans. The survey reported a noticeable drop in discarded vapes compared to previous years, but no reduction in coffee cup waste, which was present at 42% of the sites surveyed.

Overall, Mr Horgan described the results as “very good news”, stressing that continued vigilance is needed to protect Ireland’s coastline.