The Irish Coast Guard, RNLI, and Water Safety Ireland have called on people to be careful when they are in or near water this Christmas season.
They are urging people to be mindful of the potential risks and be aware of their personal safety in planning and participating in any water-based or coastal activities.
Some 86 people have lost their lives this year from drowning.
Irish Coast Guard operations manager Gerard O'Flynn has said there has been a "fantastic growth" in open water swimming in recent years.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said that anyone going to swim this festive season should ensure that there is a lifeguard present, swim with a group, check the weather and be conscious of the tides.
"It's very important you don't swim alone, that ideally you ensure that somebody is monitoring your activity. Most swims are organised by groups and they are well organised, but it's very important that anybody who is organising a Christmas swim has a safety plan in place and ideally that there are trained lifeguards, or people very experienced, in attendance and available to assist anybody who gets into difficulty.
"But most of these activities are fun activities and there's nothing at all wrong with them, but we just encourage everybody to plan and to ensure that they attend to their personal safety."
He added that children should always be supervised when they are around water.
"A lot of people will be engaged in outdoor activities, not just swimming but coastal walks and so children, it goes without saying, need to be supervised at all times.
"People also need to take care that areas that they think they're familiar with or areas that they might have walked in the summer could have changed over the winter period due to erosion and the rest of it.
"But a lot of people will be out and about. And [so] just go to areas that you're familiar with."
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Mr O’Flynn added that people should wear hi-vis clothing at this time of year to ensure that they are seen and they are visible while on coastal walks and on public roads.
He said the most important thing is to check the weather forecast and "always be conscious of the tide".
"We will have extremely high and low tides, spring tides, over Christmas and there is always a tendency that people can wander out into areas when the tide is very low and then they can get isolated very quickly," said Mr O’Flynn.
He said that in scenarios like that, tides come in really fast.
He warned against drinking alcohol and swimming, saying statistics from Water Safety Ireland estimate that alcohol has been a factor in 28% of drownings, which he said was "quite a staggering statistic".
Mr O'Flynn acknowledged the work of volunteers in rescue groups around the country throughout the year and who will be on duty over Christmas and the new year.
"It's important to recognise the integral role that volunteers play in our search and rescue systems in Ireland," he said.
