FF Call For CPR Training To Be Mandatory In Irish Schools

Training in CPR techniques should be mandatory in all of Ireland's schools, Fianna Fáil has said.

Speaking in the Seanod, the party's spokesperson on Dublin, Darragh O'Brien, called on the Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan to introduce a CPR and defibrillator module as part of the transition year programme.

"Every year in Ireland there are between 5,000 and 6,000 cardiac arrests. Survival rates following cardiac arrest are directly related to the time it takes before resuscitation or defibrillation. If a defibrillator is used within 5 minutes of a person going into cardiac arrest, survival rates jump by 50%," Senator O'Brien.

"It stands to reason that the more people trained CPR and the use of defibrillators, the more lives will be saved in the case of emergencies. The news recently that the wife of broadcasting star Michael Lyster saved his life because she was trained in CPR shows just how vital these skills can be."

Deputy O'Brien said that the transition year provides "the perfect opportunity to comprehensively train teenagers in CPR and defibrillator use within a school setting".

He added: "They would then carry those life-saving skills throughout their lives, enabling them to make a real difference in the case of emergencies."

(MH)