08/07/2020
As we go ahead with our difficult decision to close our doors for the 2020 season this afternoon at 5pm we would like to thank everyone for the show of support over the past week or so. We have been overwhelmed with your concern, support and show of encouragement at our defiance to the system.
We will have brought almost 1000 visitors to the Blueway Waterpark in the past week alone, generating much needed revenue to the area, yet despite the viability and importance of the park to Lough Allen and The Blue Way, we feel we have to take a stance against escalating insurance costs and ask our new Government to take note!
We are, for now, another casualty in the industry.
The Blueway Waterpark is 100% private funded with no local enterprise funding and no grant aid received from any Government body to date. Having generated seasonal employment for 25 local people for the past two seasons and again this season while being responsible for bringing close to 20,000 visitors to the beautiful Lough Allen basin through our Waterpark, we as a business are not willing to continue our operation with the constraints and conditions being asked by the underwriters and remaining insurers servicing the sector.
The elephant in the room is the blatant “claim culture” and excessive awards that unfortunately still exists in Ireland where the onus is on a business to prove it’s innocence up to two years after an alleged incident. When it’s OK for a claimant to notify a business 21 months after an alleged incident and where solicitors are taking on cases on a no win no fee basis what hope has the leisure industry in Ireland?
The Claim culture is fuelled by the excessive and easy pay-outs awarded by the courts and the unfortunate willingness of Insurance companies to settle as opposed to challenge due to the nature of Irish courts. The current allowable notification period is all in the favour of the claimant and with the existing GDPR rules and regulations, it makes it near impossible for a business like ours to protect themselves.
While seeking new viable insurance renewal options in recent weeks what has become very apparent is that the fear of litigation is slowly killing much needed activity-based centres in Ireland and understandably driving insurers out of the sector.
As one broker honestly replied to us in recent weeks..... “These risks have typically been written by out of territory Insurers who enter the market but swiftly remove themselves when they realise the local claim cost, claim culture and process around injuries to minors.”
We ask the question…what hope has the hospitality and leisure industry in Ireland when this is the view of would be insurers?…It has become farcical and unless new legislation is brought to the fore including protective notification periods for businesses and a cap put on genuine claims (based on severity of the injury), we will have no activity-based parks in Ireland in a very short space of time.
We are taking a stance, nothing more, with the hope that our decision to close for the remainder of this season as opposed to renew insurance mid-season will trigger another debate on the matter. Time will tell?
Below is a link to a recent settlement that shows the extent of the pay-outs being awarded in the Irish courts.
https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/boy-who-caught-finger-in-gate-as-toddler-awarded-50k-1004515.html
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An 11 year old boy who, when he was a toddler, hurt his finger when he got it caught in a gate in a play area has settled his High Court action for €50,000.
