They are fitter, stronger and tougher.
On a wet and misty morning in Salthill a group of lifeguards are being put through their paces.
As they race across the cold, wet sand, their trainer Andrew Lally, a dentist and a volunteer, explains how this year s training has made for hardier lifeguards.
Usually, their training would take place in swimming pools, but they are closed because of public health restrictions. They ve all had their wetsuits out since before St Patrick s Day, and they ve been in and out of the water every weekend, he said.
Training on beaches has been a good way to get used to the tougher conditions .
Four companies are piloting a range of innovative solutions to supply low-cost, retro-fit, technology solutions to alert, monitor and report on when ring buoys go missing or are tampered with.
This is part of an innovation challenge that was issued in 2020 to find smarter solutions to address the challenge of ‘missing’ ring buoys. The solutions aim to monitor in real time when life buoys are tampered with or taken. Apart from the potential to save lives, other benefits include reducing the number of ring buoys that go missing and decreasing the time taken to replace them.
In Dublin City Council alone, around 15 ring buoys go missing or are stolen every week. The need to replace nearly 600 ring buoys each year costs in excess of €20,000 and, more importantly, potentially endangers lives.