A Co Wicklow funpark says it was unaware of new water safety legislation which prompted an inspection of its premises this week by the Irish Coast Guard.
The Clara-Lara funpark said yesterday that safety is its highest priority, but it did not realise that all users of craft under seven metres (23ft) in length are obliged by law to wear personal flotation devices (PFDs).
It has agreed to co-operate with the Irish Coast Guard and the Department of the Marine, after an investigation was initiated by the two bodies into alleged breaches of water safety legislation on one of its ponds. The ponds are no more than two feet deep and are always supervised, Joan Byrne, managing director of the funpark, told The Irish Times.
The investigation is the second involving the national media over the past month, as the alleged breach occurred during a news report for RTÉ television. The report, which was broadcast last Tuesday, showed teenagers and a news reporter on the water at the funpark in a pedal craft. None of the occupants was wearing personal flotation devices. All people on board pleasure craft of less than seven metres are required to wear PFDs or lifejackets under the Merchant Shipping (Pleasure Craft) (Lifejackets and Operation) (Safety) Regulations, 2004.
Skippers of vessels over this size should have a PFD for everyone on board, and all children up to the age of 16 must wear such safety gear.
A photograph published in The Irish Times showing politicians, adults and children without PFDs on the Royal Canal in Dublin earlier this month prompted a similar investigation.
RTÉ said yesterday it had received no representation from the Irish Coast Guard following the television report.
A new warning about lifejackets and PFDs was issued yesterday by Minister of State for the Marine Pat "the Cope" Gallagher, who said that parents had a pivotal role to play. Safety gear should be fully serviced, he said.
The Department of the Marine has said it wishes to clarify an Irish Times report this week which referred to an estimated 150 deaths in Irish waters per annum due to water accidents. Statistics for 2004 compiled by Irish Water Safety, the statutory body established to promote water safety in Ireland, recorded that there were 48 accidental drownings, and 87 non-acciden- tal drownings - classified as suicides.
In the case of another 14 drownings last year, it could not be determined whether they were accidental or non-accidental, the department points out.
An Air Corps pilot who hopes to break the round Ireland solo circumnavigation record by sea has postponed his departure, due to a lack of wind forecast for the weekend.
Capt Michael Liddy (28) had intended to set off yesterday from the National Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, in his Beneteau 40.7 yacht. He hopes to break the record set by British sailor Peter Keig of seven days and 10 hours.
