Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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Usually when Deputies get to their feet in this House, we are looking for resources to be put in place for our constituency. There is the nonsensical situation where access to a swimming pool in a town that locals have used since the establishment of the Garda depot in Templemore in 1965 is now being denied to them. This is nonsensical and makes no sense. Leaving the pool idle for the next few months, as we are told might happen, could result in serious infrastructural work having to be done to it to get it back into use, which would cost hundreds of thousands of euro. The Taoiseach visited my constituency last Friday and met Deirdre Ryan, one of the protagonists seeking to get this decision reversed. He could see no logic in the decision that had been taken.

For generations, locals have used the swimming pool on Friday nights for swimming lessons and instruction in water safety, and it has worked exceptionally well. This is not the first time the depot in Templemore has made a nonsensical decision. A number of years ago, it decided to stop taking supplies from local suppliers, such as meat, milk and vegetables, but that decision is, thankfully, starting to be reversed because it was costing the college money and it was not getting as good a service as it had been getting from the local suppliers. In this case, again, faceless civil servants are making a disastrous decision.

This is seriously damaging the relationship between the local community and the college. There has been a tremendous relationship between the people of Templemore and the surrounding areas with the authorities in the college. At times when the college was oversubscribed and it had too many recruits for the accommodation it had available, locals would take in recruits without hesitation. While there was a financial reward for doing it, it was a great inconvenience for the households that did it, yet they always took in students.

Last Saturday and yesterday in Templemore, public demonstrations were held. On Saturday, there was a large crowd, with many children who cannot understand why this pool, which their brothers and sisters once used to learn the art of swimming, is not being opened to them. We are told it is because of energy costs, but no one made any representation to get additional funding to cover the increased costs of energy. No one went looking for it from the Department.

The Taoiseach gave us a commitment on Friday that this nonsensical decision would be reversed. I call on the Minister of State to get the OPW and the authorities at the college to knock their heads together and give access to the college to the local area in the way that has always been the case since 1965. I cannot overstress the annoyance of people in the area in regard to this. I am often in the House on my feet looking for millions of euro for this or that in Tipperary. This time around, all I am asking is that the access that has been allowed to this pool since 1965 be allowed to continue. Surely that is not too much to ask. The local community in Templemore have always done everything they can to help the college prosper. The decision makes no sense.

I might highlight another issue that arose recently in the college. If senior Garda representatives come to the college on business, they now have to park in a car park a couple of hundred yards away from the depot. They are not allowed access to park their cars - again completely illogical. Someone who is in charge at the depot in Templemore has no common sense, and I want the relevant Minister to drive that point home.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister for Justice, I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. As he will appreciate, An Garda Síochána and the OPW have responsibility for the Garda estate and the Minister has no role in management decisions related to the pool at Templemore Garda college. It is my understanding the pool is used primarily for Garda training but has been made to available to the general public for use on an ad hoc basis. I am advised that in 2017, a number of governance measures were put in place at the Garda college following an audit of the facility. One of these measures involved the awarding of pool licences by the OPW to any group external to the Garda college who wished to use the facilities. I am advised that between 2017 and 2020, a number of pool licences were awarded to local schools. These schools used the pool for one hour a week during the academic year. I am informed that while Garda management is consulted, the licences are issued by the OPW for the benefit of the local community on a not-for-profit and non-commercial basis.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the pool closed between March 2020 and March 2022 in line with public health restrictions. When the pool reopened in March this year, local schools were again granted licences, which ran until the end of the school year in June. It was anticipated licences would again be granted with the beginning of the new school year. I am informed An Garda Síochána has made the decision to close the pool for a period as an energy-saving measure in line with Government policy to reduce energy use at this time. I understand the OPW was consulted by An Garda Síochána, as the building owner and the body responsible for issuing the licences. Of course, I appreciate the disappointment expressed by the schools and families affected by this decision. I am assured this situation will be reviewed by the Garda college in the coming months, and I hope the matter can be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties involved.

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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As I said, the Taoiseach met Deirdre Ryan, one of the protagonists in trying to get the pool open to the public of Templemore, and it is clearly not his view that this is Government policy. As for energy saving, surely swimming lessons for the children of Templemore is an activity that warrants public expenditure. This notion it is for energy saving just does not wash and is not acceptable. I want the OPW and the authorities at the college to revisit this decision immediately.

They have also said they will not allow licences to be issued on a commercial basis. When an instructor is hired to give lessons, he or she has to be paid, yet they are saying that is a commercial activity. Again, that is not acceptable. No one is making a fortune out of giving swimming lessons to the children of the locality. They get a few euro to cover their expenses, as they have done for many years. I do not accept the idea this is an energy-saving measure in line with Government policy and, as I said, the Head of Government has stated he does not accept it.

I want the Minister for Justice, the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW and the Garda authorities to get this matter sorted out as soon as possible. Thankfully, in the programme for Government and this year's budget, it was announced that a significant number of recruits will start in the depot early in the new year, and the pool will be open for them at that stage. We want this decision to be reversed immediately. There are children in the locality whose siblings had swimming lessons there. To tell us this is an energy-saving measure is piling insult on top of insult. The swimming pool at the college has been used since 1965 with no problems. Granted, in 2017, there were issues with licences and so on, but they were smoothed out. Some civil servant is taking the view that this will look good on the bottom line. We are not accepting that and we want the decision to be reversed.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister for Justice, I again thank the Deputy for raising the issue. As I outlined, the decision to close the pool was made by An Garda Síochána with a view to saving energy in line with Government policy.

I hope we can appreciate that the Minister has no involvement in operational Garda matters. The pool and management decisions on it are a matter for the Garda Commissioner and the Office of Public Works. I appreciate the disappointment of schools and families, outlined by Deputy Cahill, affected by this decision. I am assured the situation will be reviewed by the Garda College in the coming months, and hopefully sooner. Hopefully the matter can be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. I thank Deputy Cahill again for raising this important issue and I will bring his views back to the Minister.