Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The National Aquatic Centre is operated by NSCDA (Operations) Limited, a subsidiary company of the National Sports Campus Development Authority. All day-to-day operations of the National Aquatic Centre are a matter for the authority and the operations company.

In parallel with overseeing the ongoing operation, in 2008 the authority undertook an international benchmarking exercise comparing the performance of the centre against other equivalent facilities around the world. This work was completed last year and has been evaluated both by the authority and by my officials. Utilising a model of best international practice, the report provides a forecast for trading over the next five years and through this process, identifies the need for an annual subsidy. In general terms, the clear message is that all publicly accessible 50 metre indoor pools receive direct or indirect subsidies from governments, local authorities, sports councils, universities and other like organisations. In this regard, therefore the performance of the National Aquatic Centre is not dissimilar to other like facilities.

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