Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, to the House. I raise a pertinent matter regarding the provision of sports facilities. I represent the Roscommon constituency, which benefited from significant Government investment in a leisure centre three years ago. This was money well spent on a facility which has been a major source of enjoyment and health benefit to the population of the county, including me. It is encouraging to see so many school children, young people and elderly people from my constituency using the swimming pool. We often discuss the need for preventive medicine but the provision of a leisure centre with excellent facilities, including a swimming pool, encourages people with arthritis and other conditions to engage in sport.

More recently, a swimming pool which opened in Carrick-on-Shannon has been a tremendous success. This leaves only one area, the west of the County Roscommon, lacking a facility. The people of Ballaghaderreen have collected a vast sum of money, approximately €270,000, towards the provision of a swimming pool and are anxious to have similar facilities developed in their area because they live approximately 30 miles from the nearest leisure centre in Roscommon town. A new swimming pool would cater for the area extending from Ballaghaderreen and Castlerea into counties Mayo and Sligo. As a sufficient number of people in the area are willing to use a swimming pool and all the required criteria have been met, I am anxious that the Minister provide the required funding as soon as possible.

I thank the Minister again for the funding his Department has invested in leisure centres around the country, which is money well spent. We should consider developing co-operation with the Health Service Executive and Department of Education and Science to ensure further vital leisure facilities are developed and properly financed. I pay tribute to Roscommon County Council for stepping in to assume control of the leisure centre when the previous operator withdrew from the project. The council has made an excellent investment in the community by spending some €150,000 on new sports equipment, including running machines, cross-trainers and weights. I look forward to the Minister's reply.