The family of a man who drowned in the River Liffey last year has welcomed a new initiative which uses sensor technology to immediately alert officials if a ring buoy has been tampered with.
Water Safety Ireland experts say hundreds of them are vandalised or stolen every year.
Daniel Cullen was 34 years old when he drowned in the River Liffey in Dublin in the summer of 2021.
On the night of the tragedy two ring buoys (also known as life buoys) were missing from their stands.
Rescue attempts were hampered.
"Daniel's death was tragic and sad, and it's very raw," said Daniel's uncle Gerry.
"It's hard to say whether life buoys would have made a difference, but certainly they would have helped. The chances of Daniel been saved that night would have been so much better had the life buoys been in place," he said.
There are around 5,000 ring buoys dotted around our rivers, lakes and coast, but despite their importance, they are regularly vandalised.
Every week 15 ring buoys go missing or are stolen, and that is just in Dublin city alone.
The cost of replacing them is around €20,000 per annum.
But now new sensor technology has been rolled out which will alert council officials once a ring buoy is moved out of its stand.
One of those behind the new scheme is Conall Mac Aongusa from the company mSemicon.
"Our solution is very simple. If somebody decides to take away a ring buoy whether for good reason or bad, when the ring buoy is taken out we have a small device, if the ring buoy is missing, it sends a message back to City Hall to say the ring buoy is missing.
"Then, we can come out and replace it to ensure there is a ring buoy all the time to ensure that lives can be saved," he explained.
Initiative welcomed
The Cullen family have welcomed the move.
"We welcome this new scheme. It'll certainly improve the safety of people in Dublin city centre and in other centres throughout the South of Ireland. What happened Daniel isn't an uncommon occurrence,' Gerry Cullen said.
The initiative has also been welcomed by water safety advocates.
Roger Sweeney from Water Safety Ireland said he regularly gets reports of missing ring buoys.
"I've had reports of the rope being used as a clothesline. So, some people don't appreciate how important they are. So, this initiative will help save lives."
Gerry Cullen appealed to people to "stop and think" of the consequences of tampering with ring buoys.
"I just ask people to stop and think of what the consequences can be. We, as a family know what the consequences are.
"We lost our nephew, other families have lost family members in the same such circumstances. So, we just ask people who vandalise this equipment just to stop and think of the consequences."
The scheme is now in place in 8 councils across the country and it's hoped other local authorities will follow.
