Under the terms of the local authority swimming pool programme, Offaly County Council applied grant aid to refurbish the swimming pools in Clara and Birr, to provide a new pool in Tullamore and to replace the pool in Edenderry. As I indicated in a reply to Parliamentary Question No. 192 by the Deputy on 12 October 2004, the council was asked to identify its priorities concerning the development of swimming pools in the county, as projects of this nature require considerable capital commitment by local authorities. In this regard, the council recently indicated to my Department that it had decided to prioritise its applications for the refurbishment of the pool in Birr in 2005 and for the provision of a pool in Tullamore in 2006. Accordingly, I am pleased to advise the Deputy that I recently approved the preliminary report for the refurbishment of the pool in Birr. This approval allows the council to have the detailed contract documents prepared for the project.