Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Loftus has raised the prospect of a proposed major tourist attraction in North Mayo not going ahead - due to the inability of the promoters to get insurance for the project.
Speaking at the May meeting of the Ballina Municipal District this week, Cllr Loftus said: "We have worked extremely hard to try and bring the aqua park to Lough Conn, but insurance is the big issue and providing it is the big obstacle. It is really a blight on our county and this country that this project is now in jeopardy of not going ahead due to insurance
"21 insurance companies and providers were contacted in relation to this, this project has received the backing of so many different groups - the department of Parks and Wildlife, the fisheries, local fishermen and Mayo County Council - and this would be a major attraction for Mayo to have this facility.
"We talk about staycations and all the people that will be coming into the area and here we have an aqua park that will be stopped by insurance. In fairness to Tom Gilligan (Director of Services for Mayo County Council ), he has been trying through IPB (Irish Public Bodies ) and through Mayo County Council to see if we can achieve this, but here we are; this will be one of the biggest aqua parks in Europe and if insurance is what is going to stop it, someone has to do something nationally and I would be worried we will lose it because of that.
"An application has gone in for planning permission today (Wednesday ) and all going well, they will be up and running by August 1, I just wanted to highlight that today."
