Dáil debates

Tuesday, 6 October 2020

Ábhair Shaincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Matters

Swimming Pool Programme

10:35 pm

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Is í an cheist atá faoi chaibidil agam anocht ná an baol mór atá ann nach mbeidh an linn snámha poiblí i nGaillimh oscailte arís tar éis na Nollag. Ar ndóigh, fógraíodh ag deireadh na míosa seo caite go mbeadh an linn snámha ag dúnadh, ach tar éis feachtas agus tar éis brú, rinneadh athchinneadh agus tá sé oscailte anois go dtí an Nollaig. Dúradh leis na comhairleoirí nach bhfuil dóthain airgid ag an údarás áitiúil chun an linn snámha a choinneáil oscailte. Is léir go mbeidh impleachtaí ón gcinneadh seo ar fud na tíre. De réir mar a thuigim, tá na linnte snámha i dtrioblóid i gach áit - i mBéal Átha na Sluaighe agus i dTuaim freisin.

The subject I am raising tonight is the public swimming pool in Galway, which was opened in 1973. It is a fantastic swimming pool. I must declare a conflict of interest as I use it every weekend. It helps to keep me semi-sane and semi-fit. It was announced at the end of September that the pool was going to close at the end of that week. I reacted by calling it crass stupidity that a local authority would allow a public swimming pool to close because of funding. This public swimming pool broke even in the last number of years. No public swimming pool makes a profit and few of them break even. This pool needed money due to Covid-19 and the difficulties experienced by every public swimming pool in the country. The management in the city council said it was not in a position to give it money and that the swimming pool would have to close. As a result of pressure from councillors, which originated from the people and the users of the swimming pool, the council relented and gave over €200,000 to enable it to remain open until Christmas. However, it pointed out that the money was coming out of next year's budget, it could not continue and it would not be in a position to fund it.

I do not expect miracles, but I expect a commitment from the Minister and the Government that, regardless of what happens, we are not going to close public swimming pools or public libraries. They are essential services.

I note that Ireland Active, which represents leisure, health and fitness associations, welcomed the July stimulus of €2.5 million to enable swimming pools with public access to remain open because of the high energy costs and the difficulties complying with Covid. It seems this is not available to the local authorities. In any event it is a small amount of money given the number of swimming pools. I understand again from Ireland Active that this fund will be administered by Sport Ireland. The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, made a very positive announcement on this and acknowledged the challenges facing swimming pools. We have got a reprieve until Christmas in Galway because of pressure but the same challenges apply to all the other public swimming pools. Can the Minister of State please do an assessment of what is necessary to keep our public swimming pools open and put a package in place? I understand 300,000 adults at a minimum use swimming pools every year. It is the sport with the second largest number of participants. It does not make sense on any level to allow swimming pools to close, not to mention that in the middle of all our difficulties we have great problems with obesity and lack of exercise. There should be a positive programme to encourage people to use the swimming pools while complying with the Covid restrictions. I ask for confirmation tonight that this closure is not going to be allowed to happen, not just in Galway but anywhere.

10:45 pm

Photo of Peter BurkePeter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline today the importance of Government funding of local authorities, with a particular focus on the spend of Galway City Council and Galway County Council, and also to reflect on the serious impact Covid-19 is having on local authorities' expenditure and on their cash flow. The funding system that applies to local authorities is a complex one, as authorities derive their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from central Government. Central Government funding of local authorities similarly presents a complex picture, with transfers coming from a wide range of Departments and offices, not solely from my Department, for a variety of purposes. It is the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport that has responsibility for the funding of swimming pools. Also, local property tax, LPT, can be used by local authorities to support the provision of local services which benefit citizens directly including parks, libraries, leisure amenities etc.

My Department recognised that cash flow support was critical to local authorities in order to ensure the services they deliver, including required subventions to swimming pools, could be maintained. It was decided to bring forward a number of payments due from the Department, where possible, throughout 2020. Specific advances were made to both Galway City Council and Galway County Council in respect of LPT and also each local authority's individual payroll and public service pension reduction allocation. In fact, all of the LPT allocations for 2020, amounting to €516.8 million in total, have been paid to all local authorities at this stage. Local authorities have been advised to capture all related costs in their financial systems to aid future financial analysis of the impact of Covid-19 on the local government sector.

My Department is engaging with representatives of the local government sector and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the financial challenges facing local authorities as a direct consequence of the pandemic, in terms of additional costs incurred as part of the local government response and declines in local authority income streams. These matters are under active consideration. In order to support the sector generally, I will ensure my Department continues to keep local authority income, expenditure and cash flow under review and will continue to work with all local authorities, both collectively and individually, including on issues being raised by Galway City Council and Galway County Council.

In the programme for Government, Our Shared Future, the Government places a strong emphasis on swimming, cycling, walking and running, which are especially suitable for all generations. I am also mindful of recent comments by my colleague, the Minister for Finance, who commented on the importance of swimming pools remaining open during and after this pandemic, though he also advised a huge intervention is required and it may be that we will not be able to meet every need. I hear the significant case the Deputy has put forward in connection with the swimming pool in question and I know that the Department is reviewing the case with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. We have a great need to be met in the local authority sector between a collapse in goods and services income, the commercial rates income being significantly compromised and also in terms of the collection of income streams in the sector.

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I welcome the positive nature of the last two paragraphs of the reply, which refers to the acknowledgement in the programme for Government of the importance of swimming among other activities and the comments of the Minister for Finance. I do not have the time to go into the finances of both local authorities. I think it is accepted that they are the lowest funded in the whole of the country. That is a separate problem. In addition to that we have Covid. We had a Zoom meeting last Friday. Zoom meetings are never very good for interaction but it was good in the sense of getting a presentation. The manager conveyed to us that the financial situation in Galway city is dire. He said there has been no certainty at all from the Department in respect of the payment of rates and the absence of money.

I am not going to go into that but I am going to use my minute to highlight another irony. We are putting money into opening up pubs, and rightly so, as we need pubs and we need to ensure staff have jobs. However, the irony cannot be lost on the Minister of State that while we are opening up pubs with the help of public funds, we are closing down public swimming pools. There is something seriously wrong with that logic given the programme for Government and the essential nature of swimming pools. On the announcement of the stimulus package, in his last two minutes the Minister of State might clarify if that was specifically for private bodies such as hotels and leisure centres and not for public swimming pools. It is very ironic if we are going to keep private swimming pools open once they have some limited access to the public while we close down the public swimming pools. It was literally closing down. The staff were called in and told it was closing down the following week. It was simply as a result of pressure that we kept it open until Christmas. I still do not hear the Minister of State saying that we are making a commitment to keeping our public swimming pools open because they are an essential service on so many levels. I would like to hear that.

Photo of Peter BurkePeter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I want to put to bed the rumour that the Government is not coming up with and delivering income streams for local authorities. The revised Estimate for the sector was approved today by the committee in connection with a €600 million fund for the rates waiver scheme. The Government is monitoring this closely. We are very clear that the local authority sector has achieved so much over the last number of years and indeed through Covid-19 in the way it rolled out the community call in a few days, for example. Local authorities responded to serious emergencies in terms of storms and floods. I can assure the Deputy of that. In terms of the allocation of the LPT fund, which every county and city council has now, I would also make the Deputy aware that the Department gave a special allocation of €1 million to Galway County Council which has been approved and allocated for 2020.

I hear the case the Deputy is making very clearly in terms of the sector. I have absolutely been very clear that this is under review within the Department. I just cannot go making commitments on the broad scale before the budget, which is subject to negotiations currently. The Government is very clear on encouraging people to have the most active lifestyle and also on presenting the infrastructure for them to do that. That is why we have had unprecedented investment in walking, greenways and infrastructure for outdoor recreation. I will do my very best with regard to the Deputy's ask. I would be willing to meet a delegation from the city council in connection with this issue. However, there are going to be significant asks emanating from this crisis. We are doing our very best to make what we have available go as far as it can. It presents a major challenge.