Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With regard to water safety, coming from a coastal county, like the Chairman, I want to deal with the issue of safety at beaches, rivers and quarries, which have been a problem and, unfortunately, we have had some drownings in quarries in recent years. Lifeguard courses are consistently run by Irish Water Safety. I commend the volunteers who are involved in that movement and acknowledge the good work that is being done.

The Minister has approximately €600,000 provided in the budget and, up to the end of September, 71% of that money was spent. Does he envisage that the remainder will be spent in the coming months?

I acknowledge some of the initiatives that are taking place. At Tramore beach in County Waterford, the Waterford water safety committee implemented an initiative for access for people with disabilities whereby a beach wheelchair was introduced. I acknowledge that we are reaching out to those who have disabilities in regard to water safety, and I know that is supported by IWS. It is a new initiative that should be extended to other beaches around the country.

On a good news story, two young volunteers from Tramore, Tom Breen and Dylan O'Brien, came second in the European surf lifesaving championships. They came up through the ranks of IWS and the courses that were provided. To say they are now European champions shows the value of this work. These are young lads who will be role models for other young people to get involved in IWS. I commend their work, as well as the work of the committees involved.

I ask the Minister to continue funding Irish Water Safety. We are an island and we have lots of water around us, including rivers and quarries.