Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am very disappointed that the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, did not take the opportunity to come in to champion the charge of Carrickmacross. I am sure she will be doing so behind the scenes with her officials. The programme for Government rightly highlights the importance of sporting activities for people of all ages. Swimming is a unique sport because it allows essentially everybody to participate. It is the most inclusive sport that there is in many respects because people can do it as part of competition or leisure, on their own or with family. The problem is that they cannot do it if there is no swimming pool. Carrickmacross is one of many towns with younger populations that have been growing in recent years. We need to see a commitment from the Government. The difficulty with the response read out by the Minister of State is that it is the exact same as the response to a parliamentary question in this House in March. It appears that there is not the urgency or the reflection just yet to press this on. Will the Minister of State ensure that any review that takes place happens quickly, and that we see some movement in this respect as quickly as possible?

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