Pony and trap trips through a famous Kerry mountain pass are back on the tourist trail after a difficulty with insurance has been resolved. Anne Lucey reports.
However, it is too late for major tour companies to include The Gap Trip in their 2004 itinerary.
The trip was removed from brochures last year after most of the 40 families involved in the business were told they could no longer be insured.
Their insurance company, one of the few companies insuring equestrian activities, refused to give a quotation.
The day-trip involves a 10 km pony and trap journey through the rugged Black Valley in the McGillycuddy's Reeks, as well as a dramatic boat journey through the lakes of Killarney. It is particularly sought after by high-spending corporate groups.
Mr Terence Casey, Killarney solicitor and agent for the company, explained that the size of the payouts on the small number of claims far exceeded the premiums paid.
People claiming for injuries in Ireland were receiving up to four times the awards for the same injuries in Britain and elsewhere, an equestrian industry spokesman said.
Mr Johnny O'Connor, the chairman of the South Kerry Development Partnership's agricultural committee, has secured an insurance deal for the pony and trap operators after trying different insurance brokers.