Alcohol is a major contributory factor to drowning in Irish waters, and the largest number of casualties occurs in the 20-29 year age group, the Irish Water Safety Association has said.
Some 86 per cent of victims between 1997 and 1999 were male, and six males have drowned for every female over the past three years.
An analysis of figures by the association also shows that an average of 66 such deaths occur every year. The figures were presented to the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal, Mr Robert Molloy, when he opened its new headquarters at Long Walk in Galway yesterday.
However, the greater proportion of such deaths are "non-accidental". Over half of the 196 drownings which occurred last year were suicides, while 64 were accidental and 18 were undetermined.
Road traffic accidents claim more than six times the number of lives lost in the water, but almost four times more deaths are caused by drowning than by influenza and almost 16 times more than by contracting meningitis.
Mr Molloy has invested £400,000 in the association this year, following his decision last year to separate it from the National Safety Council and re-establish it as a distinct body. A new chief executive, Mr Paul Donovan, has been appointed.
Yesterday Mr Molloy said that Galway enjoyed a special place in the history of lifesaving in Ireland, and recalled the association's establishment in the city under the chairmanship of Mr Des Kenny.
The head of the bookshop empire, Mrs Maureen Kenny, was one of three people to be made IWSA life governors yesterday.
The Minister of State expressed the hope that commercial and business sectors would sponsor new water safety initiatives. The upsurge in water-based recreational activity pointed to the need to target young people in relation to safety, he said.
"I look forward to a greater proportion of our young people being able to swim, and at an earlier age, than has been the case up to now," Mr Molloy said.
"This, together with a greater awareness of the dangers which are associated with water, should mean that the tragedy of drowning will be less frequent in the future."
