Irish Examiner view: Water safety imperative these months

Lack of lifeguards

Large crowds of people enjoy the beach and hot weather at Burrow Beach in Dublin. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

As we continue to swelter in the heat and rejoice in the early summer sun, the news that a number of local authorities are having difficulty recruiting sufficient numbers of lifeguards to patrol our beaches is concerning. 

At a time when domestic tourism is rebounding significantly, it is bad enough that lifeguards are only fully employed in July and August, but with people flocking to our beaches in the heatwave now, a shortage of qualified lifeguards is posing obvious problems.

Some councils are already saying they will have to close lifeguard stations at quieter beaches in order to ensure a full service at busier, more popular, ones.

While some local authorities say they will be able to offer only skeleton services, but will maintain sufficient cover, it is still a concern that something which is an annual struggle is becoming an existential threat.

It appears that Waterford and Wicklow are the only two counties that will provide full-time lifeguard services at nominated beaches this summer. Waterford even has a panel of substitute lifeguards.

Everywhere else, however, the matter is a concern as councils combat issues such as a lack of public or private transport, the availability of local and affordable accommodation and the low number of qualified coaches in their areas. 

A wide differential in pay from one region to another is also a problem.

The sad death last week of 19-year-old Wassiou Ayawe on Lough Derg in a jet ski accident highlighted the vulnerability of people out on the water without proper supervision, making it an imperative that the authorities act quickly before there are further avoidable tragedies.