Swimming Pools
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-20
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Darren O'Rourke (SF), Meath East

I thank the Minister of State for that response. I was prompted to submit this question, in the first instance, by the Swimming Pool Gap Analysis Report, which the Minister of State will be familiar with, published in December and commissioned by Swim Ireland and, second, as a parent trying to access swimming lessons for my kids. I recognise the picture on the front of this report. It is of Kells Swimming Club, which is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year. I went to school about 20 yards away from it and had access that very many children across Ireland do not have when it comes to swimming pools. One of the key findings of the report relates to access to a swimming pool. In Ireland, we have just one public pool per 81,000 people compared with Scotland, for example, which has one per 14,000. What will the Minister of State do to address that lack of access?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-20