Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this issue. The Taoiseach and the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism must answer questions as to why the National Aquatic Centre pool at Abbotstown, which has cost the taxpayer more than €60 million so far, is off-limits to people with a severe physical disability, including the children of Scoil Mochua in Clondalkin, a school that caters for severely disabled children.

I have a number of questions for the Taoiseach and the Minister. First, is it true that doors and other access points to the pool centre are too narrow to permit access for people with severe physical disability? Second, will the Minister publish the disability access audit recently carried out which identifies the access problems of the centre? Third, how much will it cost to make the centre fully accessible and how long will it take to do the work? Fourth, whose responsibility is this work? Is it the responsibility of the Government company, Campus Stadium Ireland Development, the architect who designed the complex, or the centre's management company, Dublin Waterworld Limited?

It appears that the children of Scoil Mochua and other people with a severe disability are victims of gross ineptitude on the part of Government. The centre was designed for the Special Olympics and was supposed to be a world class, state-of-the art facility. It is unbelievable that €60 million plus of taxpayers' money could have been spent on a pool, opened for the Special Olympics, which fails to meet fundamental disability access criteria.

In most other jurisdictions a Minister responsible for this kind of fiasco would do the honourable thing and resign. Let us remember that this the centre whose roof blew off in a storm, where water has been leaking, where an almighty legal row continues and off-side arrangements with regard to the centre are costing taxpayers up to €9 million a year in tax breaks. In any other jurisdiction the Minister responsible would resign, but instead the children of Scoil Mochua and other severely physically disabled people are faced with a Mexican stand-off between Campus Stadium Ireland and the pool's management company.

The pool's management company, Dublin Waterworld Limited, claimed to have installed a hoist and lift for disabled access, but these are not fully useable because of access and design flaws such as narrow doors and the position of the plant equipment. It is over to the Taoiseach and the Minister to sort out this sorry saga.

Swimming is part of the curriculum of Scoil Mochua. The Minister may not be aware, but Stewart's Hospital, St. Raphael's in Celbridge and Cheeverstown on the south side — all in the vicinity of Abbotstown — have smaller pools which are very important facilities. Although those pools were built years ago at a fraction of the cost of this world class facility at Abbotstown, they provide access for disabled people.

I hope the Minister of State will throw some light on this continuing shambles. I think we will wake up one day to find that the National Aquatic Centre has literally drained away. Part of it has already blown away and water is dripping out of it. It is a pity it is such a shambles because it should be a key facility.

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