Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I was encouraged by the end of the Minister of State's response because we do need to identify gaps. He and I were both elected to an elected local authority in 2014, Fingal County Council, that has no public swimming pool in the area. It is quite incredible that a town the size of Swords or Balbriggan has no public swimming pool, whereas Finglas, when I was growing up, had one, while on the 17A bus route, there were three. It is really important that the Minister of State and the Department, through the review of the funding mechanism, become drivers of the provision of swimming pools. We cannot leave it to local authorities to drive it; it must come from the Minister of State and the Government.

There has been a significant increase in outdoor swimming, not just in the summer months but throughout the year. Wonderful places such as the Captains and the Springers in Skerries and High Rock in Portmarnock have been used for years as swimming spots but there is no provision of facilities such as a place to get changed, somewhere to secure car keys or anything like that. I refer not to wholesale infrastructure but to some supports for amenities, which would be welcome.

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