Dog owners need to be more aware of their responsibilities to pick up after their pet.
Lunchtime Live callers were reacting to a new study which found dog poo was present in around half of ‘poor’ bathing water quality assessments on Dublin beaches.
Greystones Tidy Towns Chairman Dave O'Reilly told the show their beaches are closed to dogs in the summer months.
"You have this sort of sense of we have amenities, they're open to everyone, but it's down to people being responsible," he said.
"Here in Greystones the beaches are actually closed to dogs from the 1st of June to the 15th of September.
"Wicklow County Council have put it in.
"Like a lot of things - we said the bag tax wouldn't work, we said smoking outside pubs wouldn't work - but it proves that the public, once they get behind something, they will go with it."
Mr O'Reilly said swimming has got much more popular since the pandemic.
"I haven't seen as many people swimming in my life here," he said.
"People took to swimming in the sea during COVID, it was a great way to get out and a great way to meet people.
"We've many, many more people actually swimming and dog poop is highly, highly dangerous if it gets in the water.
"It is about education, it is about dog ownership - and responsible dog ownership."
'Much more damage'
June, who swims on Spanish Point Beach in Clare, said a minority are to blame.
"90% of people are very good to clean up after their dogs," she said.
"It's just that small minority who don't; and the sad reality is that not all dog owners pick up after their dogs.
"It may not seem like an important environmental concern, but dog poo can create much more damage than a mess on the bottom of you shoe.
"Or, in my case, on the sole of my foot the other morning as I walking on the shore into the water.
"Somebody had buried it in the sand."
June said she believes owners need to be more aware of their responsibility.
"I suppose if there were more bins and more dog waste bags and more signage, making sure everybody understands their individual responsibilities, that would probably help as well," she added.
People who fail to pick up after their dog in a public place can face fines of up to €150 or, if they are taken to court, up to €3,000.
