Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 October 2020
125. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht if a subvention scheme will be reintroduced for public and community-run swimming pools in budget 2021 in order to sustain open access to pools and to ensure people can learn to swim; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25974/20]
View answerSwimming pools are important community facilities which support people of all ages to stay active. The Irish Sports Monitor Report 2019, recently published by Sport Ireland, found once again that swimming is among the most popular forms of sport in Ireland. Swimming is particularly popular among women and older people who tend to be less active. Sport Ireland research has found that regrettably the numbers of people swimming has declined substantially in 2020 due to the closure of swimming pools. I am pleased that under the Resilience and Recovery Plan, swimming pools are currently permitted to open in all parts of the country. I have however received representations from many swimming pool operators who are experiencing severe financial strain at present.
As part of the July Jobs Stimulus, I announced a special fund of €2.5 million to support the reopening of publicly accessible swimming pools, in recognition of the particular challenges pool operators face in reopening to the public. This funding will be administered by Sport Ireland, which is the statutory body for the development of sport. Sport Ireland is currently finalising the grant scheme. Full details of the scheme and the application process will be announced shortly.
In addition, under the revised Restart Grant Scheme which was also announced as part of the July Jobs Stimulus, rateable sports, leisure and fitness facilities will be eligible for a grant payment of €4,000. Information on the grant is available on the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation website www.dbei.gov.ie.
In recent contacts with the sport sector, it has been made clear that the financial and operational challenges associated with COVID-19 will continue into 2021. Any additional funding for sport in 2021 is subject to the Estimates 2021 process, which is currently underway.
