This is a simple issue and I hope the Minister of State has some good news. My adjournment matter concerns the public swimming pool in Kilkenny city, which is in a very dilapidated condition. There are detailed proposals for the building of a new pool in the city. A site has been located but the question of funding has not been resolved. I have heard mixed reports on this, from different sources. Some people have said that the Government plans to make the money available, while others have said that it is not yet available. I hope the Minister of State can tell the House that this important recreational facility for Kilkenny city and its environs can be provided as soon as possible.
Swimming Pool Projects.
I thank Senator Phelan for raising this issue and I am pleased to respond to him on behalf of the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, on the local authority swimming pool programme and, in particular, on the position of the Kilkenny swimming pool project which comes under that programme. The aim of the programme, which is administered by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, is to assist local authorities in the provision of new public swimming pools or in the refurbishment of existing pools. Grants of up to €3.8 million are available towards refurbishment or the provision of new pools, subject in both cases to the total grant not exceeding 80% of the eligible cost of the project, or in the case of projects in designated disadvantaged areas, 90% of the cost. Support is available towards the cost of a swimming pool, a toddler pool, sauna and steam room. The closing date for the receipt of applications under the current programme was 31 July 2000.
Various stages must be completed before a decision is made on the formal allocation of moneys under the programme. The four principal stages are the feasibility study and preliminary report, the contract documents, the tender and finally, construction. The Department's technical advisers at the OPW evaluate each stage and local authorities cannot proceed to the next stage of a project unless they receive prior approval from the Department. Grant aid is allocated only when tenders have been approved and the grant aid is capped at the time of the allocation.
In May 2000, Kilkenny town council applied for grant aid to replace ——
There is no such thing as Kilkenny town council and there never has been. It is Kilkenny Borough Council. That could be contentious.
If the news is good, I doubt anybody will worry.
The Senator knows that the Minister of State is referring to the council.
The council applied for grant aid to replace the existing swimming pool on a new site. Following the approval of the feasibility study in that year, the council decided that the most suitable site for the development was at a different location, at Scanlon Park, which already had an eight lane athletic track and an all-weather full size pitch. The council submitted the preliminary report for the new site in September 2004, which I am pleased to inform the Senator, was approved by the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism in March this year. This approval allows the council to prepare the detailed contract documents for the work proposed. On submission of this documentation, the project will be considered further. The proposed new facility will include a 25 m., six-lane swimming pool, a children's fun and learner pool, a fitness suite including a spa, sauna and steam room, as well as a sports arena the size of three basketball courts.
There are 55 projects in the pool programme, 15 of which have been opened or have completed construction work. These are in Arklow, Courtown-Gorey, Dundalk, Ennis, Enniscorthy, Monaghan, Navan, Wicklow, Roscommon, Aquadome Tralee, Ballinasloe, Finglas in Dublin, Grove Island in Limerick and the regional sports and leisure centres in Tralee and Clonmel. Ten projects are at construction phase in Tuam, Churchfield in Cork city, Ballymun, Ballyfermot, Drogheda, Jobstown, Youghal, Cobh, Letterkenny and Monaghan town. Some 30 other applications are at various stages in the process: five are at tender stage, 11 are at contract document stage and 14 are at preliminary report stage. Significant progress is being made to implement the programme.
The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is carrying out an expenditure review on the swimming pool programme which is expected to be completed later this year. This will examine, among other things, how the programme has worked to date, the benefits accrued to the areas where pools have been built, the levels of funding required to honour existing commitments, how these commitments can be managed within the confines of available funding and any amendments which may be required to ensure effective and efficient delivery.
It is vital that the promotion of sport in general and the development of facilities such as swimming pools is carried out in a strategic and focussed manner. This entails the establishment of priorities, the avoidance of overlaps and ensuring maximum public access to available facilities.
The Government is anxious to ensure that the investment of taxpayers' money provides value for money by ensuring that attractive, viable facilities are built with the level of funding provided for 2005 by the Department at almost €62 million in respect of the sports capital programme, over €34 million in respect of the Sports Council and, in this context, €32 million in respect of the local authority swimming pool programme, which represents an increase of over €14 million on the previous years' expenditure. The commitment to sport and leisure provision by this Government is being sustained.
The last approval required of the Department was in March 2005. I will speak to the Minister at the first available opportunity about the matter raised by the Senator with a view to making progress.