A warning was issued to the public this evening about the dangers of frozen rivers, canals, rivers and lakes.
The current spell of hard frost could create some frozen ice on waterways. Irish Water Safety chief executive John Leech appealed to parents in particular to keep children off the ice.
"Children are naturally attracted to frozen ice for the opportunities of improvised ice-skating. Fifty per cent of ice-related drownings involved the attempted rescue of another person or a dog," he said.
"Playing or fishing on the frozen surface of a river, lake or canal is not a normal part of winter living in this country. Remember that even if ice is a foot thick in one area on a lake, it can be less than one inch thick just a few metres away," he added.
Mr Leech urged people not to venture out on to frozen waterways even if attempting to rescue somebody else. "Call for assistance from the emergency services, instruct the casualty to keep still to maintain their heat and energy and try and find something floatable to push out to them," he said.
More information is available on the Irish Water Safety's website www.iws.ie