Six lifebuoys were stolen and four boxes were damaged in a "mindless" act of vandalism in Clontarf last week.
Dublin City Council has since replaced or repaired all of the vandalised lifebuoys in the coastal town. They said there are approximately 15 lifebuoys stolen or vandalised each week, which results in the Council replacing or repairing around 600 per year.
Howth Coast Guard slammed the incident online as "mindless vandalism". They said: "Several of the ringbuoys and their boxes damaged on Clontarf coastline overnight. Mindless vandalism risking lives on the coast.
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"Dublin City Council are aware. Report any damaged Ringbuoys to https://watersafety.ie/ringbuoys/."
A spokeswoman for Dublin City Council told Dublin Live they have four inspectors who check all lifebuoys twice per week.
She said: "Dublin City Council have in place over 140 lifebuoys in situ on our rivers, canals, lakes and coastal areas. There are at all times four qualified water safety lifebuoy inspectors who inspect all lifebuoys twice weekly. The inspectors keep records of these life saving devices, which include the date of inspection and if the ring buoy or rope is missing from its housing unit or box.
"Where a lifebuoy has been stolen or damaged the inspector in question will replace the stolen or damaged unit immediately (our inspectors carry replacement buoys, ropes etc. with them).
"It should be noted that under Water Safety Ireland, Water Safety Guidelines it is recommended that Public Rescue Equipment (including lifebuoys) located within cities, major towns and major harbours should be checked weekly during the year. Dublin City Council as mentioned above carry out these inspections twice weekly."
The spokeswoman added that a scheme is now "well advanced to combat the vandalism and missing lifebuoys."
She said: "The four Local Authorities in Dublin in partnership with Dublin City Council’s Smart City Division and Water Safety Ireland have developed a system to allow us to monitor in real time when lifebuoys are stolen or interfered with, thus reducing the time taken to replace them by all the Dublin authorities as well as reducing the cost of maintaining the lifebuoys.
"Under the scheme a GPS tracking device will be attached to the lifebuoy housing unit and will alert our inspectors in real time of any interference or damage. The tendering for this product and service has been completed and will be implemented very shortly."
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