“MESSY AND CHAOTIC” scenes can be avoided by equipping all ring buoy boxes in West Clare with the Eircode to the nearest defibrillator unit.
Elected representatives in the West Clare Municipal District have led the call for smarter redirecting to the public during times of emergency. It follows a proposal by Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) seeking all ring buoy boxes in the jurisdiction to be accompanied with an Eircode pointing to the nearest defibrillator unit.
Currently, the information on ring buoy boxes across Co Clare informs people to contact the emergency services by dialling 999 or 112.
Information on the location of defibrillator units in the West Clare MD is not in the possession of Clare County Council, senior engineer in the environment and water section of the local authority, Cyril Feeney responded. “The units, many of which were installed by parish, community groups and GAA clubs may not always be readily accessible outside of certain hours or perhaps maintenance of the unit may not be up to date in some instances,” he stated.
Where defibrillator units have registered with emergency services, the information for the nearest unit and code number can be imparted by the 999 service when contacted, Feeney explained. He encouraged all voluntary and community groups to register and maintain their units.
Speaking at the May meeting of the West Clare MD, Cllr Murphy outlined that he brought the motion forward “following a tragic incident” to determine if we could put “some control on something we control”. He added, “I understand the hesitancy but it is something we should be looking at. There are some instances of people ringing 999 and they are not the people looking for the defibrillator, often there are multiple people on the scene when these calls are made, it is messy and chaotic”.
“Often people won’t have the phone coverage, that is the reality,” Cllr Liam Grant (GP) commented as he seconded the motion. “People in wetsuits won’t have phones on them,” he highlighted of accidents by the coast.
Stickers and signs need to be considered, Cllr Ian Lynch (IND) believed. He was of the view that communities would be able to source the funding for such an initiative and said €1000 was sourced for similar work in Kilrush.
