Lifeguards ‘under threat’ at beach

Two lifeguards had to be withdrawn from their posts at a North Clare beach after concerns emerged for their safety.

 

The incident happened at Bishops Quarter, near Ballyvaughan, earlier this month. According to the Clare’s Water Safety Development officer Liam Griffin, the lifeguards at the popular beach “felt under threat” because of people camping illegally in the car park.

Mr Griffin told The Clare Champion the he had no choice but to remove the lifeguards for their own safety until the people camped nearby moved on.

“Two lifeguards working in Bishops Quarter were removed that weekend. There were health and safety grounds. They have to be able to do their job without worries of a threat to them. We had a major rescue in Cappa recently and if the lifeguards had the added worry of people being there who might pose a threat… When doing a serious job like lifeguarding, especially one where you might have to effect a rescue and someone’s life depends on it, you need to be 100% sure that everything else is ok,” he explained.

“A lifeguard from Fanore went to the beach at Bishops Quarter for a short time later that day and in the time he was there he felt his safety would have been an issue if he had stayed any longer,” Mr Griffin continued.

“With the information I had at the time. I believed that there might have been a threat. I have an obligation under health and safety legislation to provide a safe working environment for the lifeguards and that is why I made the decision I did,” he added.

Clare County Councillor Bill Slattery is now calling on the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, to bring in tighter laws to allow speedy removal of people parked illegally.

“A group of people moved to the car park at the beach on the Thursday and the lifeguards felt threatened and intimidated,” he alleged.

“I am very concerned that this happened to the lifeguards in Bishops Quarter. Legislation must be changed. While barriers are preventative, more stringent legislation must be brought in to stop this happening.

“I would ask for more stringent law enforcement so these people are removed straight away and we would not have to wait for a court order over a weekend, which cannot be obtained,” Councillor Slattery said.
Gardaí in Ennistymon confirmed they received a complaint about illegal parking at Bishops Quarter but that no complaint in relation to intimidation was filed with them.