Galway Soc Dems call for long term plan to tackle river deaths

Tue, Jan 22, 2019

Following an online petition, which gathered 20,000 signatures, demanding increased action to address river deaths, the Galway West Social Democrats are calling for the establishment of a broad based committee to draw up a long term plan to tackle this problem.

The party has contacted the nine Galway TDs, as well as several Ministers of State, to establish a committee to work with the new Galway City Council, after it is elected in May, to form an "evidence-based proposal" that would underpin a new plan to be rolled out over the next five years.

An average of 140 people a year die by drowning in Ireland. The majority of drowning deaths are male at 79 per cent, and Galway has the third highest rate of drowning in Ireland after Cork and Dublin.