John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

As is well known, there was storm damage in January 2005 because of severe weather conditions in west Dublin. The roof was damaged as were various fittings around the complex. Repair works were completed on 20 May 2005 and the centre was reopened to the public on that date.

Kavanagh, Mansfield & Partners has certified that the programme of works was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the design and it secured certification from the designers, contractors and subcontractors with regard to the various elements of the work. The capital expenditure concerned has been covered between the insurers and the main contractor and no Exchequer expenditure was involved. The repair work cost just over €1 million.

With regard to reports of leaks, during 2005 reports of leaks were carried through various media organs and as a result an inspection team conducted a technical examination of the entire centre. Experts in the field were called in and the team found there was no evidence of any structural defects or of any water leaking into the plant room, despite what was alleged in the media. While some leakage from pipe joints and valves was identified, in the view of the inspectors, these arose for reasons of operational and maintenance issues and were not structural.

In addition, a test was carried out and confirmed there were no leaks from the swimming pools. URS structural engineers confirmed that the concrete works were designed and constructed to meet the British Standard 8007 and confirmed that any cracks that existed did not leak, were not of a structural nature and were entirely normal for a building of this type. The inspection carried out confirmed the allegations were unfounded and may have been connected with the ongoing court case. The report to the effect that the leaks did not exist got little coverage in the media.

There was also a snag list. In common with all new buildings, there is a process for dealing with snags that arise in the building. The attitude of Dublin Waterworld Limited in not facilitating access to the centre while the dispute on the lease was in progress resulted in the final snag list not being satisfactorily resolved. That process was also interrupted by the damage and the repair work to the roof. Approximately €320,000 has been retained and it will not be paid until the snag list is completed.

The resolution of all matters is frequently a long-drawn out process in projects of this magnitude. However, the work will now resume. It is hoped the remaining issues will be resolved without delay. I am delighted this saga will come to a close at midnight tonight and that the State, through a subsidiary, will operate the centre for the foreseeable future. That is as I wish it to be.

This has been a long and sorry saga and it has lessons for everyone involved. However, what is certain is that this project came in on time and within budget. It has had its difficulties, but the National Aquatic Centre which hosted the Special Olympics and the European short course championships has been praised as one of the finest facilities of its kind throughout the world. I hope that in future we will not have the difficulties we have had in the past and that the people can be proud of this flagship project.

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