Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 177: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he will respond to queries (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23537/09]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme, which is administered by my Department and which has been closed to new applicants since July 2000, grant aid to a maximum of €3.8 million is provided to Local Authorities towards the capital costs of new swimming pools or the refurbishment of existing 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 located in disadvantaged areas, 90% of the eligible cost. Proposals must comply with the standards set out in the Department's "Procedures for the Planning, Approval and Financing of Swimming Pools and Technical Guidelines."

Under the Guidelines there are four principal stages in a swimming pool project following the submission of a feasibility study. These, in order of progress, are: Preliminary Report; Contract Documents; Tender and Construction. Grant-aid is allocated only when tenders have been approved for the project and is capped at the time of allocation. The Department and its technical advisors, the Office of Public Works, evaluate each stage and local authorities cannot proceed to the next stage of a project unless prior approval issues from the Department of Arts, Sport & Tourism.

Where a project is being undertaken by an organisation other than a local authority, the proposal must be considered, supported and submitted by the relevant local authority. Before supporting a project, the local authority would have to be satisfied that the proposal was viable, that the balance of funding required to complete the project was available and that the project, when completed, would have a satisfactory level of public access. The Local Authority is responsible for making satisfactory arrangements for the management and maintenance of the facility.

My Department has been in discussions now for a number of years with Galway County Council regarding the grant aiding of a swimming pool in Loughrea. The current proposal is that Galway County Council following a procurement process selected a local developer who would construct the pool on a site provided by the County Council and in return would make the pool available to the public in Loughrea for an agreed number of hours per week and at entrance prices comparable to other public pools in Galway. As part of this plan the Council applied for a grant of €1.7m from the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme towards the construction of the pool.

Legal advice provided in the context of the consideration of the proposal from Galway County Council was considered and on the basis that the provision of a pool at Loughrea for a grant of €1.7m under the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme constituted good value for money, in that the public will be guaranteed an agreed number of hours at reasonable charges, I decided to approve the grant on 21 May 2009 and Galway County Council has been advised accordingly. Under the current round of the Programme, the question of the location of public swimming pools is essentially a matter for local authorities. Projects are considered on a case-by-case basis and consideration is given to such issues as to whether the area is classified as disadvantaged, the number and geographical spread of projects within and between counties, the viability of the project, particularly in relation to operational and maintenance issues, overall funding package for the project, technical details and the Department's annual estimates provision for the Programme.

There were two proposals for the construction of a swimming pool in North East Dublin. The Skerries project, for which my Department received a Preliminary Report in 2001, was to have been a Public Private Partnership between a private developer and Fingal County Council. On 26 March 2009 my Department received a letter from the County Manager of Fingal County Council stating that this proposal was terminated in late February due to the collapse of the market for the residential element of the proposed scheme. It was also stated that Fingal County Council's priority now was to locate the pool in Balbriggan in preference to the option of building it in the original location in Skerries.

The present proposal is for Balbriggan RFC in conjunction with a private company to build a swimming pool on the club grounds at Balrothery. The private company who would supply most of the funding for the project would operate the pool and thus require a reduced grant under the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme. Again an agreed number of hours for the public at reasonable charges would be agreed with the Local Authority and guaranteed in a tripartite Deed of Covenant and Charge between, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, the Local Authority and the Private Company.

A Preliminary Report for the proposal was received recently and forwarded to my Department's technical advisers, the Office of Public Works, for technical examination. The OPW replied on 26 May 2009 stating that the proposal was sound but that the Local Authority and the Department would have to be satisfied that the tender process would be transparent and fair. The Local Authority is at present considering this aspect of the proposal.

Once this matter is clarified satisfactorily the Preliminary Report can be approved leaving the way open to Fingal County Council to submit Contract Documents for approval and subsequently the Tender Report, at which stage the grant can be approved.