Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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81. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development to provide an update on the actions his Department is taking to increase water safety in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26346/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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First, I wish to express my condolences to the families and friends of the three young people who tragically drowned recently off our coasts.

Water Safety Ireland (WSI), which comes under the aegis of my Department, is the statutory, voluntary body established to promote water safety and reduce drownings in Ireland. WSI has statutory responsibility for the promotion of public awareness of water safety; the advancement of education related to the prevention of accidents in water; instruction in water safety; and the establishment of national standards for lifeguards.

WSI’s Strategic Development Plan 2023-2027 operates in conjunction with Ireland’s National Drowning Prevention Strategy 2018-2027. The Strategy focuses on five pillars, namely education, awareness, training, intervention and action. It sets out how Water Safety Ireland aims to reduce the number of drownings in Ireland by targeting at-risk groups.

We can see the practical application of the Strategy through a number of education programmes provided by WSI. Several of these programmes are aimed at children, from the Hold Hands programmes in early learning centres, to the PAWS programme which is on the primary school curriculum, and to the GET WISE programme for secondary schools.

Without wishing to minimise recent tragic events, these programmes and the efforts of local authority lifeguards are bringing the numbers of drownings in Ireland down. The drowning rate has been steadily declining over recent years from 144 lives lost in 2012 to 78 in 2024. Notwithstanding this, we can and must do more to reduce that number further.

It is important to note that funding from my Department to WSI has more than doubled since 2022. WSI have used this money to establish new training and education programmes, to run large-scale and targeted awareness campaigns, and to develop partnerships and expertise. My Department will continue to support WSI as they develop their education, training and awareness raising activities.

This week marks National Water Safety Awareness Week - one of the largest campaigns that Water Safety Ireland runs - through national and local media and with the participation of over 5,000 volunteer members nationwide.

National Water Safety Awareness Week events are being held across the country, at beaches and inland waterways. I would urge everyone to take the opportunity to get involved and to learn how to enjoy our waters safely.