A number of defibrillators have been found to be out of order in the county town area.

These life saving pieces of medical equipment are of no value if they cannot be used in an emergency situation.

The discovery was made by Castlebar councillor Ger Deere in recent weeks. The Fine Gael councillor randomly inspected 8 defibrillators located in various locations of Castlebar and discovered that half (4 out of 8) were out of order.

He is now calling for government funding for the upgrading and maintenance of defibrillators which are currently in place, right across county Mayo.

He says he will raise his concerns at the upcoming monthly meeting of Castlebar Municipal District and will also urge the council to purchase a number of Eco Powered cabinets for defibrillators to support the needs of the public on various walking and hiking trails and public amenities.

Councillor Deere has been outlining his  interest in the provision of the life saving equipment and why he undertook the random survey to Midwest News Editor Teresa O’Malley…