Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 266: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the number of applications for swimming pool capital grants that remain on hand from the round which closed to applications in 2000; the value of grant aid sought which is outstanding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28246/07]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme, which is administered by my Department, grant aid is provided to local authorities towards the capital costs of a new or replacement public swimming pool or the refurbishment of an existing pool provided by local authorities themselves or by other bodies where the application for capital funding is supported by the local authority. Under the Programme there are four stages in a swimming pool project. These, in order of progress, are: Feasibility Study/Preliminary Report; Contract Documents; Tender and Construction. Local authorities may not proceed to the next stage of a project until prior approval issues from my Department. Grant aid is only formally allocated when the tender is approved. The Department's technical advisors, the Office of Public Works (OPW), evaluates each stage.

The current round of the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme closed to new applications on 31 July 2000 and the priority is to continue to support those projects remaining within the programme. Of the 57 projects within the current round, 42 projects have been formally allocated grant aid, of which 28 have been completed and 14 are under construction or about to start construction. 4 projects are out to tender and the remaining 11 are at earlier stages in the process.

On the basis that all of the projects currently within the programme proceed to completion and if each receives the maximum grant of €3.8m, a total amount of some €85m will be required to complete this round. In 2007, the Subhead provision for this programme is €25m and this amount is expected to be drawn down by grantees by the end of the year.

On 25 October last, in response to a Priority Question from the Deputy, I agreed to check out the position in relation to funding for the programme under the National Development Plan. As I indicated in my reply, there is a provision of €184m in the National Development Plan, 2007-2013 in respect of the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme. This provision is to meet costs associated with the existing programme and the commencement of a new programme. Because of the long lead time involved in the development of a public swimming pool project, the need to give priority to and maintain activity on those projects within the current round, funding must be planned on a multi-annual basis. When the next round of the programme is launched, there will be sufficient funding available to finish projects within the current round and grant aid new projects under the next round. However, as the programme is application based, financial demand on a year-to-year basis can be difficult to assess. However, I would point out that the priority which attaches to this programme can be gauged from the fact that since the current round of the programme began in 2000, the full grant aid requirements of the programme have been met in full each year.