Mark Wall
Question:130. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the Budget 2026 allocation for Water Safety Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55408/25]
View answerThursday, 16 October 2025
Questions (130)
Written answers
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.
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.
Accordingly, I have secured a 20% increase in funding for WSI in 2026, rising from €2,492,000 in 2025 to €2,992,000 next year.
It is important to note that funding from my Department to Water Safety Ireland 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.