Every citizen in the State should be able to swim, and every swimmer should be able to save a life, the Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Bobby Molloy, said.
Speaking at the re-establishment of the Irish Water Safety Association in Galway yesterday, the Minister said that more than 150 drownings occurred in the State each year, and yet many could be prevented.
The chairman of association, Mr Frank Nolan, said the policy would be to ensure that every child in primary school was taught how to swim.
