Government to push adventure sport safety

The Government intends to push through legislation on adventure sport safety which may be on the statute books by early next year, unless there is any sudden change in administration. The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, has identified the new Bill as a priority and is confident that it will be all-embracing.

The Adventure Activities Standards Bill 2000 will include the establishment of an independent safety authority, and mandatory registration of adventure centres and providers. A new regulatory scheme will involve inspections, and the independent authority will be empowered to halt the provision of activities where safety codes have been breached.

The statutory body will be modelled on the Centre Standards Board currently run by the Association for Adventure Sports (AFAS). The legislation has been prepared on the recommendation of an inter-departmental working group, which produced a comprehensive report last year.

Parallel legislation is also being pushed through by the Minister on water safety, including the compulsory wearing of lifejackets by young people up to the age of 16, and restrictions on jet-ski and powerboat use.

The Minister, Mr Fahey, is confident that the legislation will work, in spite of fears within the sector that it being rushed through. He pays particular tribute to the campaign conducted by Mr Michael Davies, father of Ros Davies, who died in a canoeing accident off Dunmore East, Co Waterford, in February, 1995. Mr Davies has already worked with Fine Gael's marine spokesman, Mr Michael Finucane TD, on a private members' bill, which Fine Gael has described as a "catalyst" for this Government's action.

However effective the new regime may be, established centres registered with AFAS already have an impressive safety record; significantly, the Dunmore East accident occurred outside the remit of a structured adventure centre programme. Voluntary codes of practice, underpinned by tough training regimes for instructors, have fostered a safety culture that takes dependence on accurate local weather forecasts, use of life-jackets on water and appropriate equipment on land as second nature. Thousands of youngsters have not only enjoyed the experience but gained a greater sense of personal responsibility as a result.

One such centre is at Petersburg on the shores of Lough Mask, just outside the village of Clonbur, in Co Galway, which was given its formal "blessing" earlier this month after years of hard work. That effort dates back to 1986, when Galway's Vocational Education Committee acquired the Petersburg Estate, including the 18-acre Red Island on the lake, from Galway County Council. The 32 acres of farmland, including the ruins of an Anglo-Norman castle mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters, had been acquired by the local authority from the Land Commission. The original owners were the Lynch family, one of Galway's tribes, who had acquired the prime land under Surrender and Regrant.

The house was built in 1750 and named "Petersburg" after one of the first residents, Peter Lynch. A chapel was added on in 1847, dedicated by Charles Lynch to his wife, Elizabeth.

The one condition attached to the VEC's acquisition was that the property should be used to develop a leisure facility. It is a tribute to Mr Conor Morris, retiring chief executive officer of the VEC, and the centre's director, Ms Trish Walsh, that a set of ruins could be transformed into a purpose-built centre which can accommodate over 90 students, offering canoeing, hill-walking, windsurfing, orienteering, sailing, rock climbing, caving, and more.

For much of the past 14 years, considerable voluntary effort has been put into fund-raising. Mr Morris and VEC members held raffle after raffle, and raised £181,000. Some support was also sought from the US; the fact that one of the Lynch clan had signed the American Declaration of Independence in 1776 was a helpful selling point.

The final allocation of £150,000 to finish the project was granted by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands and the Department of Education, through the efforts of the junior arts minister and Galway West TD, Mr Eamon O Cuiv.

Unlike so many other tourism initiatives, the outdoor education centre is open throughout the year, and is also a base for other activities; last week, Boston University students were booked in for a six-week geology course, along with a primary school group and participants on a neighbourhood youth project.

Petersburg employs 25 staff in full season, and demand is growing. Bookings for courses are already being taken for 2001. "Unlike factories that come and go, this employment is sustainable," Ms Walsh says. "We are here to stay."

Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre, Clonbur, Co Galway, tel (092)46483; fax (092)46705.