Ireland’s first-ever National Swimming Strategy was published in 2024 and sets out a vision to provide everyone in our country with an opportunity to swim.
Further to a specific action in the National Swimming Strategy and enabled by funding from my Department, Swim Ireland carried out an in-depth analysis of swimming pool provision within Ireland, examining the condition and age of facilities and the provincial and county-level distribution of pools. The resultant Swimming Pool Gap Analysis Report was published in December 2025 and is available on Swim Ireland’s website. The report is being examined by my Department and will be a key input to the future development of swimming pool facilities by enabling enhanced decision-making with regard to targeting investment more effectively.
While the provision of public swimming pools is ultimately a matter for the relevant local authorities, capital support for new swimming pools, and the refurbishment of existing pools, is provided by my Department through the Large-Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF) which has allocated €44.65 million, from a cumulative investment of €297 million across 68 projects under two rounds, 2018 and 2024, to 12 swimming pool and aquatic infrastructure projects.
Applications under LSSIF must be made by either a Local Authority or a National Governing Body of sport. It is a matter for those organisations to prioritise their capital development requirements. No decisions have yet been made regarding the next round of LSSIF.
Smaller infrastructure works of benefit to public swimming pools can also be supported via funding from the Community Sport Facilities Fund (CSFF). Almost €4.3 million was allocated to 165 swimming projects in the last 10 years under the CSFF. I have asked my Department to prepare for a further round of the CSFF in 2026 which I expect to open in the coming months.
