John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

The difficulty with making a special case is that there are several other applicants across the country who feel that a special case should be made for them. Indeed, I have met deputations in that respect. The real difficulty is that I do not have a new programme at the moment. In Monaghan the municipal pool closed down due to serious damage and the special case was allowed. If it were at all possible to allow others for the same reason, then I would be disposed to do so.

The unfortunate situation is that Lucan does not fall within that category. That is no consolation for the people of Lucan. I will try to find out if it is possible to formulate some new programme which might help us to advance pools in places like Lucan. Even in the last couple of years, it is true that the demographics are changing dramatically. Areas that may not have felt it necessary for a pool a few years ago now feel that it is absolutely vital. It is important that the Government keeps up with people's desires, needs and wishes. I hope that we will have a new programme and that we can move along with this. We will certainly keep this under review.

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