Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for raising this matter. Water Safety Ireland, WSI, is the statutory, voluntary body and registered charity established to promote water safety and reduce drownings in Ireland. Water Safety Ireland’s remit includes public awareness and education. It strives to reduce drownings by changing attitudes and behaviours so that our aquatic environments can be enjoyed by all with confidence and safety.

The drowning rate in Ireland has been steadily declining over recent years. In 2012, the annual figure was 144 and in 2022 the number that was reported was 84. Our five-year average is currently 91 drownings per year. Each drowning, as we all know, is a tragedy for all those involved. That is why we must continue to work at keeping the level of drownings as low as possible every year.

The national drowning prevention strategy 2018-2027 sets out how Water Safety Ireland aims to reduce the number of drownings in Ireland by targeting at-risk groups. It focuses on five pillars, namely, education, awareness, training, intervention and action. In the strategy, there is a strong focus on ensuring that every child in Ireland has the opportunity to learn basic water safety skills in both primary and secondary schools. A number of initiatives have been introduced in recent years. The hold hands programme has been rolled out in early learning centres. The primary school programme, primary aquatics water safety, PAWS, is now a component of the Department of Education’s primary school curriculum. This year, Water Safety Ireland added a module to the junior cycle physical education curriculum, which is called GET WISE: Water Safety Insights and Education, which complements an existing water safety programme for secondary schools.

Internationally, in 2022, Ireland and Bangladesh introduced a UN resolution on global drowning prevention. A new UN day for drowning prevention is now recognised on 25 July. In 2023, I launched Water Safety Ireland’s strategic development plan 2023-2027. This will work in conjunction with the national drowning prevention strategy to continue to address the number of drownings.

See this speech in context