RNLI training will reflect the change in society that means fewer lifeboat volunteers come from a maritime background.
Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) crew members are highly trained volunteers who are on call twenty four hours a day, all year round.
In the past the crew members have consisted primarily of fishermen and women. RNLI communications manager Mary Newman explains that changing demographics mean that people who do not have a maritime background are applying to be volunteers, and
There's a huge requirement to train those people.
The RNLI, which is a charity, has eight hundred lifeboat stations around the coast of Ireland. The cost for each lifeboat crew member’s training is €2,000 per year, but
It’s the price of safety that has to be paid
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 3 January 2005. The reporter is Tom MacSweeney.
