Water Safety Ireland has warned members of the public to leave inflatable toys at home when visiting the coast.
It comes after a teenager was airlifted to safety on Saturday after floating adrift on an inflatable around 200 metres offshore from Newcastle in Co Wicklow.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Divisional Controller of the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Dublin Ivan Longmore said that incidents like these were becoming a frequent occurrence.
"We probably get steady reports of these incidents, particularly when there's a settled spell of weather," he said.
"I wouldn't say it's increased dramatically, but it's certainly an incident that we do get frequent callers for," he added.
Mr Longmore recommended that people do not bring inflatables to the sea or other coastal areas.
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"Don't do it, particularly if there's offshore winds and they can develop at any time, and particularly where there's tidal currents, which there is on all Irish waters," he said.
A total of 51 people have died in Irish waters so far this year, according to Water Safety Ireland figures.
Water Safety Ireland Chief Executive Joanne Walsh said that the lives lost at sea so far this year were the highest they have been in recent times.
"To put that into context, at a similar time in 2024, 47 lives were lost. In 2023, 50 lives were lost," she said.
"We’re highlighting this, speaking to children, to adults, to teenagers. So far this year, in an eight-week period, we lost seven children," she added.
Ms Walsh encouraged young people who may take to the water during the spell of good weather to be responsible and to watch out for one another.
"Please try and swim at a lifeguarded waterway. If you're at a lifeguarded waterway, look for the yellow and red flags. That's the area known to be safe. That's where the lifeguard has risk-assessed," she said.
"If it says don't swim or dangerous swimming, please heed it. Please be responsible. Please look out for each other," she added.
