Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

The council applied for grant aid to replace the existing swimming pool on a new site. Following the approval of the feasibility study in that year, the council decided that the most suitable site for the development was at a different location, at Scanlon Park, which already had an eight lane athletic track and an all-weather full size pitch. The council submitted the preliminary report for the new site in September 2004, which I am pleased to inform the Senator, was approved by the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism in March this year. This approval allows the council to prepare the detailed contract documents for the work proposed. On submission of this documentation, the project will be considered further. The proposed new facility will include a 25 m., six-lane swimming pool, a children's fun and learner pool, a fitness suite including a spa, sauna and steam room, as well as a sports arena the size of three basketball courts.

There are 55 projects in the pool programme, 15 of which have been opened or have completed construction work. These are in Arklow, Courtown-Gorey, Dundalk, Ennis, Enniscorthy, Monaghan, Navan, Wicklow, Roscommon, Aquadome Tralee, Ballinasloe, Finglas in Dublin, Grove Island in Limerick and the regional sports and leisure centres in Tralee and Clonmel. Ten projects are at construction phase in Tuam, Churchfield in Cork city, Ballymun, Ballyfermot, Drogheda, Jobstown, Youghal, Cobh, Letterkenny and Monaghan town. Some 30 other applications are at various stages in the process: five are at tender stage, 11 are at contract document stage and 14 are at preliminary report stage. Significant progress is being made to implement the programme.

The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is carrying out an expenditure review on the swimming pool programme which is expected to be completed later this year. This will examine, among other things, how the programme has worked to date, the benefits accrued to the areas where pools have been built, the levels of funding required to honour existing commitments, how these commitments can be managed within the confines of available funding and any amendments which may be required to ensure effective and efficient delivery.

It is vital that the promotion of sport in general and the development of facilities such as swimming pools is carried out in a strategic and focussed manner. This entails the establishment of priorities, the avoidance of overlaps and ensuring maximum public access to available facilities.

The Government is anxious to ensure that the investment of taxpayers' money provides value for money by ensuring that attractive, viable facilities are built with the level of funding provided for 2005 by the Department at almost €62 million in respect of the sports capital programme, over €34 million in respect of the Sports Council and, in this context, €32 million in respect of the local authority swimming pool programme, which represents an increase of over €14 million on the previous years' expenditure. The commitment to sport and leisure provision by this Government is being sustained.

The last approval required of the Department was in March 2005. I will speak to the Minister at the first available opportunity about the matter raised by the Senator with a view to making progress.