Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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336. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht further to the great success of a pop-up pool in Ardee, County Louth, which finished on 12 May, if there is any consideration being given to the provision of a permanent pool in the growing town of Ardee; if her attention has been drawn to any engagement on such a proposal, given the need that is quite evident and the lack of any other public pools in the area; if she will advise on possible funding or guidance available for Louth County Council to explore this option going forward; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24295/23]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to my Department's responsibilities, capital funding for swimming pools was previously provided through the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme (LASPP). 52 pools have been completed under the LASPP and three swimming pool projects (Lucan, Buncrana and Edenderry) remain in the programme with the Lucan project currently under construction. Two pools in Louth received funding under the programme, namely Dundalk and Drogheda.

My Department also provided funding for the Swim Ireland Pop-Up pool programme.

Capital support for any new swimming pools is now being provided through the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The first LSSIF allocations were announced in January 2020 and thus far, approximately €86.4 million has been awarded to 33 different proposals. 8 swimming pool projects received an allocation including the Dundalk Leisure Centre. Full details of all allocations are available at:- www.gov.ie/en/service/4113b3-large-scale-sport-infrastructure-fund-lssif/

The first LSSIF allocations were announced just prior to the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic obviously gave rise to significant financial challenges for all grantees with many of them having to reprioritise their own expenditure plans due to reductions in their income streams. In more recent times, the high level of construction inflation has also presented considerable challenges for grantees.

In view of these issues, it was considered timely to review progress on all projects that were allocated grants and meetings with all grantees have taken place. It is encouraging that, based on these discussions with grantees, over half of the 33 projects should be in a position to draw down funding this year. While this progress is very welcome, these discussions also confirm that some projects in receipt of LSSIF grants may not proceed in the short to medium term.

In view of this, Minister Martin and I are currently considering whether additional resources could be provided to projects in need of further assistance and whether a new round of the LSSIF could be opened in due course. There is ongoing engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in this regard. Once these discussions are concluded, I will provide an update in respect of any new round of the LSSIF.

In relation to other grant supports, the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.15 billion. The Programme for Government commits to continuing the SCEP and to prioritising investment in disadvantaged areas.

The 2020 round of the SCEP closed for applications on Monday 1 March 2021 and by the deadline a record 3,106 applications were submitted. The final grants were announced on Tuesday 31 May last and the total allocation of €166.6 million represents the highest level of allocation ever made under the SCEP.

Following completion of the appeal process, my Department commenced a full review of all aspects of the 2020 round of the SCEP. This Review has now been published and is available on the Department’s website. The possibility of expanding the remit of the SCEP to include applications for upgrades to swimming pools is included in the Review. Now that the Review has been finalised, I have asked my officials to draft the "Guide to Making an Application" for the 2023 round to reflect the recommendations in the Review. Once completed, the Guide will be published on my Department's website. In addition, my officials and I continue to engage with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform in relation to the launch of the next cycle of the SCEP.

In addition work on the first National Swimming Strategy continues apace, with the working group tasked with its development scheduled to hold its eighth meeting on 30 May. The working group is chaired by my Department and comprises representatives from relevant National Governing Bodies for sport and stakeholders, specifically Swim Ireland, Sport Ireland, Active Disability Ireland (formerly CARA), Ireland Active and the Local Authorities.

Whilst it is difficult to be precise about the exact timeframe for the delivery of the Strategy, I hope to be in a position to publish it by the middle of 2023 and it will further guide future swimming pool investment policy.