Three life buoys per week stolen in Galway

Three life buoys are being stolen or thrown into the city’s waterways every week, it has been confirmed.

There are a total of 60 life-saving ring buoys located along the seashore, the River Corrib and canals in the city, which Galway City Council inspects weekly.

The Council has found that on average two or three ring buoys are being removed by vandals weekly.

City Councillor Pádraig Conneely (FG) said the vandals who were stealing the buoys and throwing them into the water were putting lives in danger.

It was a “horrendous” scenario that three a week were being vandalised, he said.

Cllr Conneely said he hoped that the people who were vandalising the life buoys, some day in the future, don’t have to rely on a life buoy to save them.

“I hope someday they don’t fall into the river and need a life buoy,” he said.

Director of Services, Tom Connell, agreed that the weekly vandalism of ring buoys was “disgraceful”.

In his quarterly Environmental report, Mr Connell said two or three buoys are replaced weekly.

“This is an ongoing cost which is not acceptable from a safety and social aspect,” he said.