It’s a damp midweek morning at Ladies Bay in Greystones, Co Wicklow, and the Dryrobers have set out for their day’s dives.

Flat whites and mixed berry tart croissants are traded at the cafe across the road, while a flock of swimmers make their way across the pebbles to the popular sauna.

On the surface, this stylish seaside town, home to Taoiseach Simon Harris, appears to be a bubble of prosperity, full of artisanal bakeries and thriving restaurants.

Locals say there are challenges here too when you look beneath the surface.

Many people say the suburban belt town is struggling to cope with rapid population growth, with the council area population rising by 20 per cent to just over 22,000 in about five years.

Whether it’s traffic problems, school place shortages or over-subscribed sports clubs, residents say they are increasingly stuck with backlogs.

Deirdre Glennon, mother of two primary school-aged children and the director of a creative agency, walks her dog Blanche, “the OG hound from Greystones.”

He’s here twice a week to meet his friends for a swim. They are all working mothers with first-hand experience of juggling career and family life against the backdrop of a creaking transportation system.

“This is a very livable community and I feel very lucky to be here,” says Glennon, who takes Blanche for a morning walk.

“But there are housing problems here, quotas in secondary schools are very limited… Dart is not reliable. Most of the time you are left standing on the platform and you are an hour late… I think we pay high taxes, but we actually have no services.”

Claire Herbert, another member of the “Ag snámh” WhatsApp group, lives in Shankill, Co Dublin, and travels here to swim with friends. He has two children, aged six and eight, and works in advertising. Child care is an urgent issue, he says.

“There’s a debate right now about making this a public service, and I think that’s the right way to go, especially for women, single women, women who are separated or divorced,” she says.

“We need childcare to help Ireland’s great women do the work they need to do to get to CEO levels, executive levels, director levels and have a voice at the table… to choose your career or to choose your family.

The bay is especially popular among retirees. Carmel Egan (76) and Jacinta Douglas (75) came for the day’s swim.

Egan admits that the Dryrobe was initially more of a fashion accessory and she eventually got into the business.

“I bought it because we felt a bit fraudulent sitting outside drinking coffee, so I thought I’d better get back to swimming… Once you’re in the water you forget everything. “I will stay for about 20 minutes.”

He says traffic is a real problem in Greystones. He says the journey to Bray, which normally takes 15 minutes, can take up to an hour in heavy traffic.

“We need more infrastructure,” he says. “There’s a huge amount of housing. We’re pretty much tied to Delgany and Kilcoole now.”

For Douglas, meanwhile, the cost of living is a bigger concern: groceries, utility bills and the odd treat are eating up a large portion of his pension.

“Two coffees and two scones are €16.50 at Powerscourt – that’s slightly higher,” he says. “You can do it occasionally, but you have to really enjoy it.”

There is almost universal praise for Simon Harris among sea swimmers: many have glowing praise for his work rate as the local TD and the energy he brings to the Taoiseach office.

Lawyer Mairéad Coughlan, 52, who is awaiting her “second retirement”, and pensioner Ciarán Lyons, 67, live down the road in Newcastle and are regulars at the Cove.

“I think he’s great; I’m already leaning towards Fine Gael and it’s great to have a local Taoiseach,” he says.

Lyons agrees: “Politics is in his blood; He is a passionate man and I trust him very much. I really would. “We’re lucky to have him here.”

Deirdre Glennon thinks her stance on “tough issues” such as immigration is correct.

“I’m proud of how he handled this situation… There’s an undercurrent that I don’t like about Irish people waving the flag, and I don’t think it represents the Irish people,” he says.

Mary Keating, a regular swimmer from Ashford, is also impressed with the new Taoiseach, but does not underestimate the challenges ahead.

“He’s got tremendous energy. I think Ireland needs this youth… for me he’s taken the bull by the horns. He’s not going to get it all right. He’s doing well,” he says.

“There are so many things that need to be solved: homelessness, housing, what do we do with immigrants… With all the money coming from Apple, they need to make sure our infrastructure is right, but can they get it right?” he says, referring to a windfall of 13 billion euros in taxes from the US tech giant following a long-running EU illegal state aid case.

“They’re lucky… They better do a good job.”