Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I need extra time. The damage at the national aquatic centre occurred on a day when the centre was closed for a holiday and there was no injury to staff or the public. CSID handled this situation immediately in an efficient and effective matter. CSID's first priority was to look to the safety of the general public and anybody using or working in the facility. It also focused on ensuring that the damage was accurately assessed by the insurance assessors, that repairs would be carried out as quickly as possible and that the debris in the vicinity of the facility was safely removed. To ensure the health and safety of future users of the facility and to avoid a recurrence of the damage, expert consulting engineers were commissioned to provide an independent report on the situation.

The Office of Public Works, at the request of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Ltd., engaged Kavanagh Mansfield and Partners, consulting and structural engineers, to examine the damage and to provide a report as a matter of priority. The findings of this report guided the response of CSID. They were taken into account in agreeing the repair programme with the contractor and the consultants who carried out the report subsequently provided a service in overseeing the type and quality of the work carried out. This work was in addition to a report prepared by O'Connor Sutton Cronin, an engineering consultancy appointed to examine the damage on behalf of the insurance company carrying the insurance cover on the national aquatic centre. It is important to be independently briefed to ensure that liability is appropriately assigned and that this misadventure is not billed to the Exchequer.

The Deputy has sought to have this independent report published and indeed it will be when the time is ripe. As has been explained to the Deputy on a number of occasions, there are legal, contractual and financial issues that are still on-going and are being negotiated in the light of this report. Therefore, it would not be appropriate to publish it or comment on its findings at this time.

The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism said in this House, just the week before last, that capital expenditure on the provision of this facility represented value for money and that is indeed the case. For years we have heard complaints about the lack of proper sporting infrastructure. This Government has made a tangible contribution in this field, delivering over €600 million in capital investment in sports facilities since 1997, in sharp contrast to that provided from 1994 to 1997. The centre was only one of a number of significant state-of-the-art facilities which we have provided. Instead of giving credit where credit is due, or indeed supporting the endeavour, we have an Opposition that cannot wait to find fault and that rushes to criticise.

The motivation of the Government in developing the national aquatic centre in the first place was to provide a 50-metre pool for Ireland's needs and to provide a suitable location for hosting the aquatic events of the Special Olympics. The project was delivered on time and within budget and resulted in games of which everyone could be proud. The centre has justly drawn well-deserved admiration from those who have visited it and used its facilities. Since the centre was opened to the public in March 2003, it has successfully hosted the Special Olympics and later that year the European short course championships — both to significant acclaim. In its first year of operations it had close to 1 million visitors, which placed the facility among the top attractions in Ireland.

Today the centre continues to be equally popular as a facility for those who love water sport, especially young people, tourists and swimmers of all ages and abilities. Despite suggestions to the contrary by the Deputy, the reality is that the centre is fully operational and bringing endless enjoyment to adults and children alike, as well as providing a top class facility for our swimming athletes.

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