Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 6 Jun 1996

Vol. 147 No. 13

Adjournment Matters. - Sports Capital Programme.

Mr. Enright

The Department of Education has a sports capital programme which is funded by the National Lottery. There are two schemes — the recreational facilities scheme where grants of £50,000 or less are paid and the major facilities scheme where grants of £50,000 or upwards are paid. I would like to refer specifically to the recreational facilities scheme which assists voluntary community organisations in the provision of improvements to and the equipping of recreational leisure and community facilities. However, it excludes swimming pools and environmental works which is the reason I raise this matter.

Swimming pools should not be excluded from the sports capital programme. There was a major investment in swimming pools in the 1960s and in the early 1970s. Funds were raised by local communities and grant assistance was provided by the former Department of Local Government, now the Department of the Environment. Many excellent swimming pools were built at that time. They provide an excellent sporting facility for people of all ages, particularly young people. This is particularly obvious during the summer months when we see school children walking and cycling to swimming pools with towels over their shoulders.

Swimming is a great leisure activity and sport. Many Irish Olympians started their swimming careers in these pools. It is wonderful to see such an interest in the sport. However, little or nothing has been done since these pools were provided. Some local authorities have taken them over but most of them were left to the local communities and organisations, which originally provided them, to fund and run in the intervening period.

Most of the pools have problems. It is expensive to replace their pumping systems and clean their pipes. The local communities charged small fees to encourage young people to avail of the facilities, many of them would come from low income groups and would not be able to pay more than 50p to go for a swim. Little money has been set aside for the maintainence and upkeep of the pools, which is why I have raised this matter. Regrettably, the Department of the Environment and the local authorities have failed to do much to maintain these pools. I ask the Minister to consider including the maintenance and upkeep of swimming pools under the national lottery. In some areas, they should be considered for capital grants.

Birr swimming pool needs a considerable investment. Clara swimming pool, which caters for a population of in excess of 2,000 people and a huge catchment area, is closed because £150,000 is needed to carry out structural alterations. Edenderry pool, which services a big town and a huge hinterland, is also closed, although it may open temporarily after minor repairs are carried out. To see Clara pool closed is a great disappointment.

I ask the Minister to re-examine this matter and to endeavour to change these regulations. This area needs help under the national lottery, the Department of the Environment and the local authorities. If a small investment is made from national lottery funds, many of these pools could be reopened. I urge the Minister to do all she can in this matter. I would be thankful for this, as would the people of Clara, Birr and Edenderry.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise and Employment (Ms E. Fitzgerald)

I thank Senator Enright for raising the matter. The Department of Education administers two schemes for the provision of sports facilities under the sports capital programme — the recreational facilities scheme and the major facilities scheme. The recreational facilities scheme, which is for small scale projects, does not explicitly exclude swimming pools; they come under the major facilities scheme.

The recreational facilities scheme assists voluntary community organisations in providing, improving and equipping of recreational, leisure and community facilities. Swimming pools and environmental works are specifically excluded from this smaller scale scheme. It does not assist the purchase of sites or premises. Average grants under this scheme in 1994 and 1995 were in the region of £6,800 and £6,300, respectively.

The recreational facilities schemes are typically made to local sports clubs, community centres and youth groups towards repairs to their premises or provision of changing rooms, pitch development or equipment. In 1995 the total amount of money available for allocation of the recreational facilities scheme was £1.5 million and 238 projects were assisted. As this is the smaller scale scheme, it would not be practical to offer meaningful assistance towards swimming pool refurbishment under the terms of the scheme.

The other scheme run by the Department of Education is for major facilities. In 1988 the Government approved a multi-annual capital programme for major sports facilities at national, local and regional levels with a total budget of £16.9 million. The centres were designated by Government but in each case the local sponsors established the needs of their area and the facility or mix of facilities required to meet these needs. Where appropriate, the grant amount was divided between two or more projects in response to local needs. As most of these projects were virtually completed, a new capital programme was introduced in 1994 and £15 million was provided for the scheme for the years 1994-96. The actual annual allocation is to be decided in the context of the annual public service Estimates. The programme now comprises over 125 projects with total grant allocations amounting to £36.175 million.

The Department of Education has allocated funding towards the cost of providing swimming pools under the major facilities scheme. In some locations the local sponsors established the need for such pools and, as a result, the Department provided assistance towards the cost of pools in Sligo and at the Seán Kelly Centre in Carrick-onSuir, Country Tipperary.

Assistance was also provided towards works on the pool at Tralee Sports and Leisure Centre. Construction work is ongoing on the pool at the Cork Regional Sports Centre in Bishopstown and there are commitments under the programme to provide assistance towards the development of swimming pools in Athlone and Enniscorthy.

The Senator may be aware that the Department of the Environment administers a scheme for the provision and refurbishment of swimming pools. Nevertheless, applications for groups sponsoring swimming pools could be considered under the Department of Education's major facilities scheme. However, in general the funds available under the sports capital programme are limited. In addition to the £1.5 million provided for the recreational facilities scheme, £2.5 million was provided for allocation under the major facilities scheme in 1995. The Department has a huge number of applications on hand from sport and community organisations under the sports capital programme and it endeavours to achieve an equitable geographical spread of these funds. The average cost of providing a new swimming pool could be in the region of £2 million. Refurbishment costs are also high. All these factors must be taken into account when dividing out the money so as to get a fair spread.

The sports strategy group, under the chairmanship of John Treacy, is developing a strategy for the future of sport in Ireland. Its work is due to be completed later this year. Among other things, it is considering the provision, funding, management and maintenance of sports and leisure facilities, including the provision of swimming pools and the extensive refurbishment programme required for the country's stock of existing pools.

In view of the way the two tiers are structured, there are no proposals to change the format of the schemes administered by the Department of Education at present. Applications must be considered in the context of the huge demands on the scheme to get the best value from the limited funds relative to the annual demand. I hope it is possible to examine the cases raised by the Senator and I will bring them back to my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Education, Deputy Allen.