Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Chair. I know he is familiar with the area given his own connections. I thank the Minister of State for taking this important question. Being from Kildare - I am Kildare to the core - I am in touch with the different issues that impact on the members of the Defence Forces and their families. I often take the opportunity in this House to talk about some of the larger issues within the Defence Forces, such as the need for a cultural transformation, the inadequate pay levels, the lack of investment and the recruitment and retention difficulties. However, there are some other issues that we might consider small but which make a big difference to the quality of life of members of the Defence Forces and their families and indeed those in the surrounding areas.

Within Kildare, we have a huge lack of public swimming pools. There is an excellent one in Athy and another in Naas which is in mid-Kildare. The commitment that has been made for over 20 years is that the next public swimming pool will be in the north of the county. The people living in very large towns such as Newbridge, Monasterevin and Kilcullen and the hinterland all around them do not have access to any public swimming pools. In talking about this, I am also saying that the schools in those areas do not have access to a swimming pool. Prior to Covid, many of the local schools were able to access the Curragh swimming pool, which is a very fine swimming pool. The last investment in it was 20 years ago, when €2 million was invested. At that stage, the arrangement was made that not just those serving in the Defence Forces but also their families and the families of former serving Defence Forces members, could use it. It was a great asset to them. There also were some swimming clubs. Since Covid, however, it has not reopened to the schools, family members or to the former serving officers and this has caused a lot of tension. This was solidified when a small public pool attached to a guest house was bought privately, meaning it is no longer accessible to the schools. I have done quite a bit of background work on this issue and have received commitments from the Tánaiste, who informed me that access works started on 15 September last year. This is really good to know.The agreement was that reopening access to those who did have the opportunity to use it before would be dependent on access issues and redoing the changing rooms. The work started in December and I understand that new lifeguards have also been sought. It is really important that we are clear about our timelines because at this point, more than four years have gone by without access. I do not want to give commitments that are not going to ring true. I am asking the Minister of State for an update on these works. When will the pool open? When will we have the opportunity to extend beyond the families and schools that were using it previously? Members of the public should be able to use this pool. It is a very fine facility and we need to be able to share the sporting facilities and assets we have in the county and particularly in the Curragh area.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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Before I call the Minister of State, I would like to welcome our guests today from North Dublin Muslim School and their teachers. You are all very welcome. You have come to the Seanad at a point where we are doing our Commencement matters. This is where individual Senators submit items of interest or topics that they have a particular interest in and a Minister comes in and responds. The Senator has four minutes to speak and the Minister has four minutes to respond. They then each get one minute for a further reply. I hope you enjoy your visit to the Oireachtas today.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I would also like to welcome our guests from north Dublin. For the previous school we had in here, we were told that there was no homework for them until June so I am wondering what the position is for our guests today.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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No homework tonight

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Exactly. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Deputy Micheál Martin. I thank Senator O'Loughlin. I can see how important Kildare is to her. The Tánaiste asked me to offer his apologies on his behalf to the House. He welcomes the opportunity to respond to this matter and thanks the Senator for her question.

The swimming pool in the Defence Forces Training Centre, DFTC, in the Curragh is an important Defence Forces asset and, as she knows, has previously been offered to local schools and community groups for use. That is one of her specific questions. I am advised by the military authorities that the use of the swimming pool was restricted from March 2020 due to Covid 19, in line with Defence Forces and national protocols. The swimming pool facilities are being upgraded in a project managed directly by the Defence Forces under the devolved €11 million building programme. Earlier this year approval was given by the Department of Defence for these upgrade works, and the contract was awarded to Dunne Building Services Ltd. The Defence Forces, as direct managers of this project, have advised that the project will be completed in the coming weeks.

The work involves an improvement to the changing rooms, entrances, and internal fabric finishes. Overall, it will ensure that the DFTC swimming pool is fit for purpose and compliant with the relevant health and safety regulations and fire safety standards. The works will also ensure that the facility meets national child protection guidelines in order to ensure that it is suitable for civilian use. The reopening of the pool to other users is being considered in the context of current operational and training requirements and the necessary resources required to maintain the facility. In particular, in order to proceed with any plan to open the pool to other users, the refurbishment of the changing facilities will need to be completed. In addition, civilian lifeguards are now being recruited to bring the staffing levels up to the required levels. A competition for lifeguards was advertised on publicjobs.ie in May, and the latter stages of the competition are ongoing, with interviews planned for next week. Once sufficient resources are in place, and following completion of all outstanding refurbishments, it is hoped that the swimming pool will re-open in the third or fourth quarter of the year. The policy with regard to third party usage will be examined and implemented in line with these timelines.

I thank the Senator again for this question and would like to assure her that it is the intention of the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence to ensure that, subject to the operational needs of the Defence Forces, the swimming pool is offered, where possible, to local schools and community groups.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for the good news. It seems that we are ahead of schedule and that makes a very welcome change. I completely agree that the swimming pool is an important Defence Forces asset but I maintain that it should be an asset to the community. People in the Kildare and Newbridge area are very much part of the Curragh community and work very well together. I welcome the news that it is ahead of schedule and that we will have it reopened to the schools and groups that used it previously, including the family members of current and past members. However, I ask the Minister of State to bring the message back that the opening of the pool to other users should be considered. I appreciate that there has to be a protocol and a process and that the operational needs of the Defence Forces come first. However, it would be hugely important and welcomed by the whole community, Kildare sports partnership and the educational community of Kildare if we were able to ensure that the local schools and residents had access to the facility.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I again thank the Senator for raising this very important matter of an update on the upgrade works on the swimming pool at DFTC in the Curragh. She will be well aware that there is a long-standing policy in the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces to allow third-party access to Defence Forces properties to support local communities and to raise the profile of the Defence Forces among the public.

This policy extends to a large number of groups and activities, including GAA clubs, soccer clubs and numerous community groups throughout the country. As I have stated, it is the intention of the Tánaiste and Minister of Defence to ensure that, subject to the operational needs of the Defence Forces, the swimming pool at the DFTC is offered, where possible, to local schools and community groups. That is the intention and that is a positive. The investment undertake in the swimming pool complex underlines the Government's commitment to enhancing and improving the built infrastructure of the Defence Forces. Some €56 million has been allocated this year to improve the facilities where members of the Defence Forces eat, sleep, work and train.

Obviously, we very much value the work of the Defence Forces. I would like to reassure the Senator that this will remain a key priority and this is demonstrated by the priorities the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence has set out in the strategic framework.