Driving to a beach or a river bank is probably far more dangerous than swimming there, according to national statistics. The number of accidents involving marine leisure is still alarmingly high, however: one person drowned accidentally every week last year.

It is a challenge for Irish Water Safety (IWS), and one the association is constantly working on through its extensive summer and winter programme of courses in swimming, safety and lifesaving.

Earlier in the summer, it took another step, with the publication of a report on beach safety, which was directed primarily at local authorities. Already, seven county councils - most of them inland - have responded with requests for risk assessments.

Counties Sligo, Cork, Laois, Kildare, Tipperary, Wicklow and Louth have asked IWS to conduct audits of bathing areas, lakes and rivers that pose a risk. Some of these are already in train.

Most of the work relates to reviewing drowning reports, examining the topography, tides and currents, and recommending improvements in relation to signposts and provision or replacement of ring buoys.

The offer to carry out audits is one of a series of recommendations in the comprehensive report, which was commissioned by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal, Bobby Molloy, after the drownings at Strandhill, Co Sligo, in 1999. The review recommends that local authorities identify dangerous beaches and signpost them clearly.

It does not advise classifying beaches as "safe", however, even if they appear to be. Any beach or bathing place can become dangerous for a time during bad weather, and the competence, fitness and general well-being of people using it will always be a factor, it points out.

Significantly, it says county councils should not employ lifeguards on dangerous beaches. Where they are employed, they should be appropriately qualified and provided with standard uniform and equipment, it emphasises.

The review recommends that local authorities draw up safety plans for beaches and introduce by-laws for public safety and good management. Not all of the coastal county councils have made use of the powers to make such by-laws under the 1994 Local Government Act, it notes. In big resorts, bathing areas should be zoned and supervised by lifeguards, it says.

The review recommends that the summer period for lifeguard employment be extended to include June, and should continue into September in fine weather.

It also advises local authorities to sign an agreement with the Irish Coast Guard, designating the lifeguard service a "declared facility". Common signage on dangerous beaches should be introduced, and it recommends prosecution, where possible, of people who damage lifesaving equipment.

It suggests that the use of jet skis and other fast power craft be regulated in line with the initiative taken by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources.

Under recently introduced legislation, anyone under 16 years old is banned from using jet skis and speedboats and must wear a life jacket when in mechanically-propelled pleasure craft.

As a practical measure, the review says that local authorities should appoint water safety development officers with proper resources.

Other recommendations include public notice by local authorities of hazards relating to water safety and provision of adequate resources to IWS to raise awareness. It also says that the 18-inch ring buoy should continue to be used.

John Leech, the IWS chief executive, is heartened by the response from county councils, but he acknowledges that the risk assessments will involve a lot of hard work over coming months by volunteers.

There are 14 bathing areas and harbours on the Tipperary shore of Lough Derg alone.

The IWS has only five full-time staff and just over 1,000 active volunteers. It relies on sponsorship for much of its work and its publications.

One of these publications, on dealing with hypothermia, was written by the Irish-born world expert on the subject, Surgeon-Admiral Frank Golden.

The IWS website carries the current list of blue-flag beaches, and it also has a county-by-county list of beaches and bathing areas that are patrolled by lifeguards, including details of when they are on duty. The long term aim is to build up a database that could prove invaluable for people planning seaside or lakeside holidays.

Beach Safety Report 2001 by Irish Water Safety is available on the Internet at www.iws.ie. Irish Water Safety's address is The Long Walk, Galway (1890-420202)