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Councillors move to end surf school monopoly

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NORTH Clare local representatives were united in calling on Clare County Council to prevent any surf school operator from having a “monopoly”, in a discussion at Monday’s adjourned local authority meeting.
However, a water safety audit, which was due to happen earlier this month, has not taken place and council officials are reluctant to make any decision in relation to surf school licensing without this report. The “unannounced” audit is now expected to take place this weekend.
Councillors Joe Arkins, Richard Nagle, Michael Kelly, Michael Hillery and Bill Slattery jointly tabled a motion to “ask the director of service for environment to review the licensing arrangements for surf schools on our beaches to ensure that no operator has the opportunity to monopolise the market or to use their licence as a franchise”.
Anne Haugh, Director of Service, Transportation, Water Service, and Environment department, provided a written response.
“Clare County Council is currently awaiting the results of a risk assessment on a number of Clare beaches, including Lahinch and Spanish Point beaches. The risk assessment is to be undertaken by Irish Water Safety Authority shortly. The results of the risk assessment will be considered when it is complete. Clare County Council will have regard to the recommendations of the risk assessment and health and safety requirements in determining the licensing arrangements for all licensable activities, including surf schools, on these beaches in accordance with Clare County Council Beach Bylaws. Generally, licence applications and the issuing of licences for the summer of 2012 will be addressed by June 30, 2012.”
“Clare County Council supports the principal that no operator has a monopoly in terms of Beach Bylaw licences and such licences are not transferable to persons other than the person to whom the licence is issued,” she added.
Councillor Arkins said the motion was unrelated to water safety but was specifically about licensing of surf schools, not necessarily the number of people in the water.
A surf school license, issued by Clare County Council, allows the holder to operate a surf school on a designated beach. Any single instructor can have up to eight people in the water at a time.
“One school can have 10 instructors on the beach and that many could have 80 students,” Councillor Arkins pointed out. “They could have the same on another beach,” he added.
“Applicants cannot get a licence to work for themselves on Lahinch Beach but they can operate if they are willing to work for another operator who has a licence,” he outlined.
Councillor Arkins said the current situation was unfair.
“I believe in fair play. I don’t believe in monopoly and I believe there is a difference between a business and a franchise,” he said.
The Ruan man called on Clare County Council to “license in a fair way”.
Councillor Richard Nagle echoed Councillor Arkins’ calls saying “we all support the idea of a level playing pitch”. He added that it was “totally unfair” that a school with one licence “could have eight, 10, 20 instructors operating on the beach, while other people cannot do that”.
“The onus is on us to come up with bylaws that are fair and equitable to all,” he said. Councillor Nagle from Ennistymon said Lahinch provided an excellent amenity and attracted “huge numbers of people to the area with a diverse area of interest”. He said all these people had an equal right to enjoy the beach.
Councillor Michael Hillery explained the background to the issue.
“The issue came to my attention last year when an operator in Spanish Point was not allowed to operate in Lahinch but a person in Lahinch could operate in Spanish Point,” he explained.
Councillor Michael Kelly summed up the objective of the area councillors as “to provide a properly regulated area to each surf school, to give equal opportunity to each school”. He queried why the water safety audit, due to be carried out by the Irish Water Safety Authority, was not yet carried out.
Ms Haugh said the issue of surf school licences could not be dealt with before the water safety audit was completed because “we need to license in a fair way, but we also need to license in a safe way”.
“A risk assessment was meant to happen a number of weeks back but weather dictated that it couldn’t,” Ms Haugh pointed out. She added the audit is now expected to take place this weekend, weather-permitting.
Councillor Bill Slattery said he believed this should have happened long ago.
“There is only so much room in the water at Lahinch. It is quite right to have a water safety report but this should have been done four or five years ago,” he said.
Councillor Kelly reminded council officials that councillors had been told the audit was going to be unannounced. Councillor Nagle said the audit “needs to” be unannounced.
“If people are forewarned, it is likely that everyone is going to be on their best behaviour and it will not give an accurate picture,” he commented.
According to Ms Haugh, surf school licences will have to be issued before the end of this month but “the licences, once issued, will give the option to review them at any time”.
Councillor Joe Arkins called on the council to consider “looking at the number of people any operator is putting into the water at any one time, that is the way to address this”.
Ms Haugh acknowledged there is an issue with regard to the current system where one licence is granted to an operator but this person could then have any number of instructors. She added that the safety audit and the future of surf school licensing were intertwined because “the safe number that can be on the beach at any time is dictated by the risk assessment”.
“That will dictate the licence conditions,” Ms Haugh concluded.

 

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