Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is more than welcome. It is great to have an opportunity to have the Minister of State responsible for sport deal with this issue. The issue that I am asking the Minister of State to make a statement about is the national swimming strategy. The national swimming strategy was based on a document published and the title was about everyone in Ireland having the opportunity to swim. That strategy is a key document and proposal to make sure that everyone has the opportunity and the ability to swim. It is a key focus of the Government.

In 2022 to 2023, a sports action plan was put in place by the Minister of State’s predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Chambers. This was a significant document that outlined nearly 40 different elements that needed to be looked at, throughout the entire sporting sector, taking into consideration that we were recovering from Covid-19. It was about trying to make sure that we can promote swimming and that we have the ability and the infrastructure to ensure that everybody has the opportunity to get this skill for life, which is so important. Swimming is the second most popular participation sport in Ireland. Personal exercise is the only one ahead and with women, it is the number one sport. In the case of people with disabilities, it also is the number one activity.

As I said, it is a key skill for life and has major benefits around physical health, fitness, well-being and mental health. These things are all really important. The Minister of State had the opportunity to be in my part of the world a few weeks ago and he knows what we have. We have a wonderful coastline and beautiful scenery but access to swimming pools is the key issue. It was discussed in a meeting in Kinsale we both attended recently. We need to have the infrastructure required to ensure that parents can get lessons. We have a significant issue in making sure that parents have the opportunity to get lessons for their kids. There is a frustration, to say the least, that it is a lottery system and I will give an example. When it comes to Dunmanway, the swimming pool is owned by Cork County Council. When the news trickles out that they are taking on more people for swimming lessons, the phones clog up and they are filled within 25 minutes of the proposal being sent out. This is because of the great need that is in the community and there is a significant need there. We all have been on a waiting list for some time regarding that issue. This is about trying to make sure that we have the appropriate infrastructure to get these swimming lessons in place. There is no swimming pool in Bandon, the biggest town in west Cork. That is an amazing statistic. I do not understand how, why or where. We need to make sure that towns like that had the opportunity to get the infrastructure required.

The last point I will make is that we have a lovely coastline. More needs to be done about trying to promote sea swimming in particular and sea swimming lessons. I am speaking about what is happening in Oysterhaven down by Kinsale. Imelda Lynch runs an amazing course there at the moment, where people are getting into the water and these are young people, older and everyone in between. We need to do more to promote that side of the house so people have the opportunity to get in to the sea. It is about access to the infrastructure and the lessons and coming back to my core point on the national swimming strategy. Where is it, what can we do and how can we make sure that it is suitable to make certain that the majority of society have the opportunity to learn to swim.