Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)

I wish to address an issue related to the provision of public swimming pools in County Limerick. On the N69, Askeaton swimming pool, which has been closed since 2023, is scheduled to reopen, thankfully, this autumn under the management of Swim Ireland. Other than that, the county has been without a swimming pool for the past two years due to this issue. On the N21, where there is a large population centre of almost 8,000 residents, west Limerick sports complex is run by a not-for-profit enterprise which is looking to begin a partnership with public bodies to develop its facility.The voluntary committee is running at a profit, which is no mean feat. This surely calls for serious discussions with all levels of the Government to progress its development plans. In the east of the county there is no public or community partnership provision for swimming pools. Swimming pools are an important part of active healthy citizenship. It is a sport that can save lives as well as an important skill for schoolchildren and adult beginners. Swimming pools are an integral part of occupational therapy and for those needing relief from pain or maintaining and rebuilding strength, but time and again we are told that swimming pools are costly and do not make a profit. Libraries do not make a profit, schools do not make a profit and neither do Garda stations or greenways. All of these services are vital to our communities and to society. Swimming pools are the same. Even though they do not make a profit sometimes, they are vital to our communities. County Limerick needs public and publicly supported community swimming pools along the N69, the N21 and the N20 routes as part of investment in our communities and in our future.