Swimming Pools Dail Éireann — 2026-01-20 ============================================================ Charlie McConalogue (FF), Donegal We will certainly look at all options. We need local authorities to step up and get into this space. It has been a challenging space. It has been challenging for pools to be run profitably. That has seen local authorities shy away and has led to some of the gaps we have. We need to see them step up. Certainly, the Department, working with Swim Ireland and Sport Ireland, will look to try to ensure that is the case as we go forward. That report is important in scoping out the current situation and looking to see what the challenges are around current provision. It is also about looking at what new models might work best and could work most profitably in a way that ensures there is provision and service that is even in communities. It is to ensure all kids have access, as the Deputy was fortunate enough to have in Kells, which is not the case everywhere. That should be addressed. We are very much intent on stepping forward from that report, looking at what the lessons are from it and seeing how we can address them. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. 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