eFoil regulations & spots in Ireland

No Irish law names eFoils. The Department of Transport's Irish Maritime Administration sets national pleasure-craft rules through the Pleasure Craft (Personal Flotation Devices and Operation) (Safety) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 921/2005), which cover all pleasure craft including 'personal watercraft' and 'fast power craft' (mechanically propelled craft able to reach 17 knots). Whether a board is a 'personal watercraft' is unsettled - Louth's bye-laws define a PWC as a craft under 4 m with an internal-combustion water-jet engine - but a motorised pleasure craft is caught by the regulations anyway, and a board that can reach 17 knots is a fast power craft.

Everyone on a personal watercraft must wear a personal flotation device at all times, and on any other pleasure craft under 7 m a PFD must be worn while under way on an open craft; either way an eFoil rider must wear one. Under-16s may not operate a personal watercraft or a fast power craft, and under-12s may not operate any craft with an engine over 3.7 kW (5 hp). The Code of Practice for the Safe Operation of Recreational Craft lists no national licence or registration, but Waterways Ireland's Marine Notice 29 of 2021 states that most bye-laws require PWC users to hold a permit from the council or Waterways Ireland and to launch and recover only at designated sites. Breaches of S.I. 921/2005 attract a €150 fixed-payment notice or, on summary conviction, a fine of up to €5,000.

Where you can ride is set by Local Authority bye-laws under the Maritime Safety Act 2005 and by navigation authorities. Waterways Ireland summarises the common rules: 5 knots when entering or leaving launch areas and near bathers; on coastal areas PWC use within 300 m of the foreshore is prohibited except at designated launch areas; no jet-ski or fast power boat may enter a Designated Bathing Area; and many inland lakes, including Lough Corrib and Lough Mask, prohibit PWCs altogether. Louth's foreshore bye-laws close Reserved Bathing Areas to PWC and recreational craft at all times, cap speed at 3 knots within the foreshore area (up to 200 m seaward of low water), confine launching to Port Oriel, Greenore and Gyles Quay, and allow craft to be seized. Fingal County Council requires a watercraft permit for jet-skis, water-skis or boats between Howth and Balbriggan.

Enforcement is by Gardaí, council authorised officers, harbour masters and the Naval Service; Louth fines run to €1,270, or €2,000 for refusing to stop when directed. Because each council and harbour writes its own bye-laws, read them and speak to the harbour master before launching, treat the board as a fast power craft, and stay outside bathing areas and the 300 m coastal band.