Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Leader to consider, in the next tranche of the public consultation process, the worrying issue of the large number of people who lose their lives through a lack of water safety awareness.We published a report on farm safety, which was very successful. It helped shine a light on this issue, which we will debate later today. In terms of farm safety, we have the Health and Safety Authority, the farming organisations, which comprise powerful cohesive groups such as the Irish Farmers' Association and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, ICMSA, but when it comes to a person losing his or her life in a swimming pool, at sea or being swept off rocks, there seems to be very little in the way of support or investigation into such tragedies. It would be worthwhile if the Seanad were to focus on how we can make people more aware of the danger posed by of water, whether it be the sea, rivers or lakes. The number of people who die as a result of drowning each year is three times the number who are killed in farm accidents. I have not noted any group or organisation, be it a Government organisation or a local authority, shining a spotlight on the dangers posed by the sea or the tragedies that have occurred. This is an issue on which we should reflect. In the case of road accidents, there is the Road Safety Authority and other such organisations. Perhaps this issue is one on which the Oireachtas should focus. It would be worthwhile to have a consultation process and get people together to examine whether there is a safety code covering the danger posed by water. It is frightening for me, having been born along the shoreline in Bantry Bay, to hear each summer of youngsters who were having fun in the water being lost at sea, and the increase in the numbers is a worrying trend. I urge Members of the Seanad, and particularly the Leader, to take a lead on this issue and examine whether we can do something about this in the next Seanad term to ensure that next year there will be a reduction in the number of people who are tragically downed at sea or in our rivers.