Mr. Noel Sheahan:

The old scheme was the local authority swimming pool programme, which we inherited a long way back from the Department of the Environment. Only three projects remain in that programme. The new large scale sport infrastructure fund, the first grants for which were announced in January, in many ways subsumed the old local authorities swimming pool programme. Any applications we get for new swimming pool projects are now covered under the LSSIF. Of the 32 projects that grant funding was announced in January, about eight had a swimming pool element. Some were new facilities and some were refurbishment work to existing pools. There is no plan to open the new local authority swimming pool programme, rather a new round of the sports capital programme itself. Sometimes local authority swimming pool projects have gym facilities and might come looking for equipment for those. We hope to open the sports capital programme next month. There are no plans to open a new round of the LSSIF in the short term but we will review that some time early next year.