Sports strategic review must include swimming pools

NEW NAAS POOL

Current Pool programme deeply unfair
Kerry – 4 pools – 47,000 less people than Kildare
Offaly – 4 pools – 116,000 less people than Kildare
Kildare – 2 pools

While announcing there will be no sports lottery funding in 2009 Minister Martin Cullen stated it was his intention to do a strategic review of facilities nationally.     Cllr Catherine Murphy has written to the Minister and urged him to include swimming pools in that review.   Currently there is a public  swimming pool for every 50,000 people nationally,  unfortunately that figure in Kildare is one pool for every 93,000.   

The National Swimming pool list was drawn up in the year 2000, no new projects have been added since.   At the time each county,  irrespective of its population,  were advised to submit  just two sites.   Kildare opted for Naas and Athy both of which are now complete.    Ironically not all counties were restricted to 2 sites,   the then Minister for Sports own County of Kerry had no fewer than 4 projects (Aqua Dome, Tralee,   Killaney, Ballybunion and  Tralee Sports Centre). Taoiseach  Brian Cowen’s home county of Offaly also had four sites accepted.   (Edenderry,  Clara,  Birr and Tullamore).  Offaly has just 70,000 inhabitants, Kildare has in excess of  186,000  while the 2006 Kerry population was 139,835.

A feasibility study was done for a North Kildare pool to be located at the Amenities Centre in Leixlip.  This site however must wait until the remaining 20 projects on the 2000 list have been completed.     Parts of the country that have experienced rapid population growth over the past 10 years including North Kildare have lost out big time according to Cllr Murphy.   Over the past 8 years €123m has been spent nationally on 37 projects,  it appears the amount in future that will be provided  to each project will be sharply reduced leaving Council’s with the problem of finding matching funds.    This is another major hurdle that will have to be overcome if a new North Kildare pool is to be realised.   While the Country may be in an economic mess at the moment   the intention remains to fund new sports projects from next year.  North Kildare must seek nothing more than a fair share  from this fund,  that must include a new swimming pool.

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Posted by catherinemurphy on May 4, 2009. Filed under homepage,Latest News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.