Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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482. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding a local authority swimming pools programme that closed for applicants on 31 July 2000; the status of the 57 applications that were being dealt with at that time; the pools that needed renovation and or modernisation; the new pools delivered and to be delivered in the next three years; the number of local authority swimming pools by county and local authority, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27575/18]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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483. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has allocated funding for the reopening of a pool (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27576/18]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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486. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the four swimming pool projects in the current local authority swimming pools programme, LASPP; the dates on which these projects will be delivered; the methodology being considered for the way in which LASPP funding will be awarded and applications for same assessed in the context of a national sports policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27670/18]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 482, 483 and 486 together.

Under the current (2000) round of the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme (LASPP), grant aid to a maximum of €3.8m is provided towards the capital cost of new swimming pools or the refurbishment of existing pools. To date 51 pools have been completed under the Programme and these are listed in the table below.

There are four principal stages in the LASPP, namely: Preliminary Report; Contract Documents; Tender and Construction. Grant-aid is allocated only when tenders have been approved for the project and is capped at the time of allocation. My officials and technical advisor evaluate each stage and projects cannot proceed to the next stage unless prior approval is given by the Minister.

In January 2016, my Department contacted local authorities and sought expressions of interest in a limited round of swimming pool allocations. There were three expressions of interest received for new pools, two of which were valid and both in Dublin, one in Lucan and the other in Ballyogan. The third was for North Kildare but was not valid as the Council did not have title to the proposed site. Following consideration of the expressions of interest, and the two valid proposals for new pools, it was decided to include the proposal from South Dublin County Council (SDCC) for a new swimming pool in Lucan in the LASPP.

In April 2016,pool projects inBalbriggan, Ballaghaderreen and Loughrea, whichhad been included in the 2000 round of the Programme since 2000, were voluntarily withdrawn from the programme by the relevant local authorities.

Glenalbyn was also originally included in the 2000 round of the LASPP. However, in 2010, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) asked that Glenalbyn be replaced in the LASPP with Loughlinstown. Following receipt of a detailed case, the Department agreed to the Council’s request. €3.8 million was then allocated to Loughlinstown swimming pool in 2010 and the pool was developed andopened in May 2013. Accordingly Glenalbyn Pool is not considered to be in the current round of the Programme.

As mentioned earlier, in January 2016 the Department sought expressions of interest for the construction of new swimming pools and/or the refurbishment of existing pools. In response to this, DLRCC submitted an expression of interest for a pool for Ballyogan. An expression of interest for a grant for Glenalbyn swimming pool was not submitted.

Accordingly, there are currently four projects remaining in the current round of the LASPP. These are: Castlebar, Co Mayo, (a replacement pool where construction is underway and is nearing completion); Buncrana, Co Donegal, (a refurbishment which is at Contract Documents stage); Lucan, Co Dublin, (a new pool which is at Contract Documents stage); and Edenderry, Co Offaly, (a replacement pool which is at Preliminary Report stage). The priority in 2018 is on progressing the four projects through to the next stages of the programme, as appropriate.

In terms of any possible future funding, the recently published National Development Plan (NDP) contains a commitment to establish a new “Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund” (LSSIF) with at least €100m available over the coming years. It is intended that the Fund will primarily be targeted at larger new projects, including swimming pools, where the proposed Government contribution exceeds the amount currently available for individual projects under the Sports Capital Programme. The draft terms and conditions of the new scheme are expected to be finalised shortly and an announcement in relation to when applications will be accepted will be made once this work is complete. At this stage, it is envisaged that the fund will be initially focused on the National Governing Bodies of Sport and Local Authorities and the possibility of accepting applications for larger scale refurbishment work is being considered.