More than 600 sensors will be installed on ring buoys across the country in a bid to clamp down on the number of stolen life-saving equipment from Ireland’s waterways.
There are more than 6,000 ring buoys around the country, but hundreds go missing or are vandalised every year.
Around 15 ring buoys go missing or are stolen every week from Dublin City Council alone, costing over €20,000 to replace every year.
Dublin City Council, Water Safety Ireland and the Department for Rural and Community Development launched the Smart Ring Buoys project aimed at saving lives.
The deployment of this new low-cost sensor technology will provide real time alerts when life buoys are stolen or tampered with.
Nearly 650 sensors will be installed in eight local authorities including Fingal County Council, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, South Dublin County Council, Dublin City Council, Laois County Council, Meath County Council, Sligo County Council and Limerick City and County.
These will alert water safety officers when ring buoys are tampered with or go missing, allowing them to be replaced within a short space of time.
Members of the community highlighted that ring buoys were frequently being stolen or tampered with, with a delay to replacement devices being installed.
Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said: “Unfortunately, the issue of this life-saving equipment being tampered with remains prevalent in communities across the country and as minister with responsibility for water safety, I cannot emphasize enough how reckless and dangerous it is to tamper with ring buoys.
“They are put in place along our rivers, lakes, canals and our beaches in order to protect lives and assist people who encounter trouble in the water.
“To be quite honest, the figures are startling. In 2021 alone lifeguards rescued 473 people from drowning, administering first aid on over 6,000 occasions and reunited over 500 lost children found wandering unsupervised near water with their families.
At Dublin City Council for the launch of the Smart Ring Buoys Initiative. 🛟
My Dept is investing €125,000 to roll out over 640 sensors across 8 local authorities.
This will ensure staff are alerted if a device is stolen or vandalised.
A stolen ringbuoy is a stolen life. pic.twitter.com/XFbKT3j9mS— Heather Humphreys (@HHumphreysFG) October 26, 2022
“So drowning is a needless tragedy. But sadly, some 80 people drowned in 2021 and this figure could be even higher if it were not for the efforts of our lifeguards, or local authorities and our water safety campaigns.”
She said that the new technology will save lives.
Roger Sweeney, acting chief executive of Water Safety Ireland, said that every year ring buoys are used by members of the public to rescue people from drowning.
Speaking at the Dublin City Council offices, he said: “However, there have been instances where the ring buoys have been missing.
“So these instances where they’re being used to save a life, it’s not just the life of the person who’s in difficulty in the water, they’re designed so they’ll keep the rescuer safe from drowning as well.
“They’re particularly effective and they have saved a lot of lives. They’re proven to work and there are many people alive today, and I’ve spoken to many of them, who would attest to the fact that they would not be alive today but for the ring buoy, but yet the ring buoys are regularly stolen.
“They’re vandalised. I’ve even heard reports of the ring buoy rope being used as clothesline at the back of houses.”
Sean Fox, water safety officer, said that the technology will cut back on the number of checks that are made on ring buoys around the country.
He said they have replaced around 80 ring buoys in the last 12 months, with many repeatedly stolen from the same areas.
