Dublin City Council, in partnership with Water Safety Ireland and the Department for Rural and Neighborhood Development, this week launched an innovative ‘Smart Ring Buoys’ project aimed at saving lives in Ireland’s waters. The Good Dublin initiative labored with know-how partners Civic Built-in Solutions Ltd, mSEMICON Teoranta and ZiggyTec Ltd to develop the low-price lifesaving expertise, which can present actual-time alerts when life rings are stolen or tampered with. Anti-social misuse of life buoys is an issue for councils throughout Eire, Herz P1 Wearable and Herz P1 Smart Ring greater than 600 sensors will now be put in in eight native authorities including Fingal County Council, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, South Dublin County Council, Dublin City Council, Laois County Council, Meath County Council, Sligo County Council and Limerick Metropolis & County. The Smart Ring Buoy know-how works via low-value sensors paired with a mobile, map-primarily based platform with real-time monitoring. It would alert water safety officers when ring buoys are tampered with or go missing and ensure their timely replacement.

This is an essential and lifesaving action as a stolen ring buoy could mean a stolen life. Minister for Rural and Community Improvement, Heather Humphreys mentioned: "In 2021 alone, we tragically lost 80 lives by way of drowning. Such incidents have devastating and long-lasting effects on families and communities. "Safety tools like ring-buoys are in place to save lots of lives and protect people when they are near water. Sadly, the theft or vandalism of this life saving tools continues to be commonplace in both our rural and city communities. Dublin City Council is both distinctive and vital. With the help of funding from my department’s Digital Innovation Programme, we'll roll out this sensor technology in 8 completely different native authorities. "This mission is a number one example of how the general public sector is tacking community challenges with innovative approaches. The undertaking began again in 2018 as part of a workshop to establish challenges in Dublin’s Sensible Docklands space.

Members of the neighborhood highlighted that ring buoys had been regularly being stolen or tampered with, with a delay to alternative gadgets being installed. At present, around 15 ring buoys go lacking or are stolen every week from Dublin City Council alone costing over €20,000 per annum for alternative. Dublin Metropolis Council says it realised that this was a problem not simply in Dublin however throughout Eire and set out to find an answer by means of its Smart Dublin innovation programme. Throughout Ireland there are roughly 5,000 life buoys installed. The project has taken what’s described as a "unique" method to procurement in an Irish context, led by Dublin City Council, where the Dublin native authorities have been capable of pilot plenty of revolutionary solutions initially after which buy the most effective options as part of a wider framework with 23 native authorities. As well as, the project was shortlisted for an Innovation management award from the European Innovation Council, recognising the efforts finished by the general public sector to advertise and implement innovation procurement throughout Europe.

Talking about the new scheme, Dublin Metropolis Council chief executive Owen Keegan stated: "This is a great instance of collaboration throughout the Irish local authorities and Water Safety Ireland through our Good Dublin programme. It is also the first time we have used a procurement approach like this to pilot an revolutionary technology resolution before we buy. Roger Sweeney, acting CEO of Water Safety Eire said: "Every 12 months, ring buoys are used by the general public to save lots of lives from drowning nevertheless many ring buoys are usually stolen or vandalised. A stolen ring buoy can mean a stolen life. Ring buoys play a vital role in drowning prevention but to do so that they must always be accessible and in place. "These smart ring buoys will detect when this important public rescue tools is interfered with or stolen. They are going to save on the time that is at present wanted to monitor and substitute them and they will present this info 24 hours a day.