Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)

I wish to raise the issue of swimming pools. Before we broke for the June recess, I spoke about water safety but today I wish to speak about the need for swimming pools. In my constituency, there is a good active group in Loughrea trying to get a pool for the area. One of the biggest issues when we were out knocking on the doors was the fact that a population of 6,000 people did not have a pool. Due to the good work of the committee, its expression of interest was accepted by LEADER last week. Now, the group is going to make an application for capital funding to determine the feasibility of a public swimming pool in the area.

Of course there is a need for a public swimming pool because at the end of the day, we do not have a publicly funded and owned swimming pool in south Galway. All of the children are missing out on the opportunity of learning how to swim as part of their curriculum. There is a fantastic lake in Loughrea but, unfortunately, one cannot go there in the middle of November, December or January to learn basic skill sets like water survival and how to be safe in the lake. Regardless of that, the wider catchment area of 12,000 young people would say there is a need.

Building on that piece - I have no doubt that I will be helping the groups with its LEADER application - I acknowledge the relentless work of Mr. Colm O'Donnell and what he has done, but Galway County Council will need funding as well. That is why I call on the Minister with responsibility for local authorities to ensure this is in his budgetary submissions. I am talking about Loughrea, there are many Loughreas around the country where large urban centres do not have access to the basic skill sets derived from accessing a public pool. The shovel-ready funding required when the feasibility is done will be approximately €3 million. We need to put infrastructure in place so that our young people can have skill sets. When we lose 120 people annually because of tragic drownings, we have to question if we have the necessary infrastructure to ensure awareness, understanding and, most importantly, the skill set to survive. Coming from the banks of the River Shannon, I learned to swim when we went on a bus every Saturday evening to either Nenagh or Ballinasloe. That was 20 km away. I am now at the level of a lifeguard, believe it or not, and my children have learned that. We did not have a pool, so we travelled, but we were a small town. In a town the size of Loughrea, it is incumbent on all stakeholders, including the local authority, the rural development company and anyone who has a stake, to ensure we support our youth and our wider population.