Every sports club should be given the money to buy a defibrillator as part of next year’s grant allocations for sports clubs and organisations throughout the country, according to Limerick West Fianna Fáil Dáil candidate, Cllr Niall Collins.

A defibrillator is used in emergency medicine to reset the electrical state of the heart so that it beats to a normal rhythm.

And Cllr Collins said that we have all heard terrifying stories of sportsmen and women collapsing on the field with sudden cardiac arrest.

"There are usually no symptoms of the sudden collapse and any advance medical warning signs. We are fortunate that such incidents do not happen too often, but, when they do, the results are usually fatal.

Allowing sporting clubs to buy their own defibrillator could be a lifesaving move. It would allow the device to be used in sudden cardiac arrest emergencies rather than awaiting for an ambulance to arrive,” he said.

The sports grant allocations are used to bring our clubs and organisations to the proper standard.

But the health and well-being of our sportsmen and women at all levels must always be our priority, he said.

"The country is rich in sporting achievement. And I believe a defibrillator for every sports club could save lives and prevent tragic deaths on the field of play,” concluded Cllr Collins.