Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 June 2026
95. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if his Department will work alongside Kildare County Council to deliver a swimming pool for north Kildare now that the next stage of the project is underway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44555/26]
View answerIreland’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 Strategy, Swim Ireland carried out an in-depth analysis of swimming pool provision within Ireland, examining the condition and age of facilities, community accessibility, the availability of swimming lessons, energy and sustainability practices, and the provincial and county-level distribution of pools. The resultant Swimming Pool Gap Analysis Report was published in late 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 swimming pool and aquatic infrastructure projects.
In the 2018 round of LSSIF, an application for €1 million was received from Kildare County Council for design funding towards a new swimming pool in Maynooth. The total funding applied for under the scheme significantly exceeded the amount available to allocate and the swimming pool project in Maynooth was not awarded a grant. No application was received in respect of funding for a swimming pool in Kildare in the 2024 round of LSSIF.
While it is intended that a third round of LSSIF will take place in the coming years, no decision has yet been taken on timing as my current focus is on ensuring project delivery under the first two rounds. My Department would be happy to meet with Kildare County Council in the context of its planning for a future application to the LSSIF.
