Smart technology to be used to tackle problem of stolen or damaged lifebuoys

The country’s largest local authority is to examine the use of smart technology as a measure to counteract the problem of damaged and stolen lifebuoys.

Dublin City Council is seeking assistance from service providers with innovative solutions for the management of its network of lifesaving equipment against a background of an average of 15 lifebuoys being tampered with each week.

It hopes to trial the use of smart technology to reduce the number of lifebuoys that are stolen or vandalised and the length of time they are missing.

The council in conjunction with Water Safety Ireland believes the technology can be adapted for use by all 31 local authorities across the country in the near future.

Dublin City Council said it is examining the potential use of low-cost, low-power sensors and alarmed systems to provide information on damaged or stolen lifebuoys, otherwise known as ring buoys, in real time.

The deployment of such smart technology should enable water safety officers to identify which lifebuoys are missing or damaged without delay and to ensure their replacement as soon as possible.

The council currently manages approximately 130 lifebuoys in Dublin which are located on the banks of the canals, rivers, the Docklands and beaches within the local authority’s administrative area.

The council said it was unfortunate that over a tenth of all lifebuoys are interfered with on a weekly basis.

Dublin City Council and Water Safety Ireland jointly share responsibility for the monitoring and maintenance of lifebuoys in the capital.

Under current practice, each individual lifebuoy and associated equipment must be checked manually with all problems, including missing parts, being logged on a paper filing system.

“Currently new parts are ordered and deployed on the next visit to that location with some ring buoys missing for weeks at a time, which is not ideal from a water safety perspective,” the council said.

It estimates that it spends an average of €20,000 per annum on the replacement of approximately 600 lifebuoys.

The council said the problem of damaged and stolen lifebuoys was not unique to Dublin.

It claimed the distance between lifebuoys in some counties was vast and meant the job of checking them was a very time-consuming task.

“Ultimately the solution that is provided should be one that can work in all local authority areas,” the council said.

Cork County Council has estimated that 5% of its 1,400 lifebuoys are damaged each year with vandalism accounting for around 60% of incidents.

Cork City Council claims it spends around €15,000 each year on replacement equipment for its network of 172 lifebuoys.

A private members bill initiated by Fianna Fáil senator Keith Swanick to make it a specific criminal offence to interfere with lifebuoys or defibrillators is currently before the Oireachtas.

Under the Life Saving Equipment Bill 2017, if passed, anyone convicted of interfering with life-saving equipment could face a maximum prison sentence of up to five years and/or a fine of up to €50,000.

Dr Swanick, who is a GP in Belmullet, Co Mayo, said he had drafted the legislation in response to a series of incidents across the country in 2017 where defibrillators had been vandalised or destroyed.

“Since then a petition to support the bill has secured almost 20,000 signatures – a clear indication that the appetite is there to bring in legislation to protect vital life-saving equipment,” said Dr Swanick.

He claimed it was “totally unacceptable” that thugs around the country continued to put lives at risk through their reckless behaviour

A total of 103 people died as a result of drowning in Ireland last year – a reduction of six on 2017 figures.

Dr Swanick said a missing lifebuoy was regularly cited in reports of drowning incidents which highlighted the need for such legislation.