Pleasure craft users who got into difficulty at sea and on Ireland's lakes accounted for more than one quarter of the launches of the national lifeboat service in 2007.
More than 1,000 people were rescued by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in Ireland last year and over 1,500 hours were worked by Irish lifeboat crews, according to the annual report of the service.
Crews from RNLI's 43 lifeboat stations launched a total of 922 times last year with an increasing number of emergency calls related to pleasure boats, rather than fishing vessels.
"The analysis of call-out statistics for 2007 again show that the most common reason for lifeboat launches is to assist pleasure craft users who accounted for 242 of the year's launches," RNLI divisional inspector for Ireland, Colin Williams, said.
The service was called out ten times last year to rescue animals which had got into trouble. Mr Williams said the service responds to these calls because of the risks posed to human life. "This work ensures that animal owners are not tempted to try and rescue the animals themselves, which can often result in loss of life."
The all-island service costs about €14 million a year to run and is highly dependent on charitable contributions.
The charity is calling on the public to support RNLI "SOS" day next Friday to boost funding for the service. Schools, communities and individuals are asked to organise fundraising events, which if possible have SOS in the title. "There will be events such as 'sponsor our swim' and even 'slurp our soup'," Mr Williams said.
"Our voluntary lifeboat crews are extremely dedicated to training and making themselves available to launch the lifeboats within minutes. It is these volunteers and our extraordinary fund-raisers who make it possible to provide this vital life-saving service," he said.
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