Planned closure of swimming pool in Limerick town sparks outcry at public meeting

MEMBERS of Askeaton Swimming Club have urged Limerick City and Council to “find a better way” to proceed with the proposed 12-month closure of their local pool.

There was a large turnout for a public meeting which was held in Askeaton Community Hall on Thursday night.

The meeting was called following the sudden announcement, last week, that the swimming pool in the town is to close to facilitate repair works.

The proposed closure has been met with resistance by many users of the pool and from people living in Askeaton and neighbouring areas. 

Progress was made at the meeting, as councillors who attended agreed to revisit the issue with decision makers in the hope that a lengthy shutdown can be avoided.

Askeaton Swimming Club 'deeply concerned' at plans to close Limerick pool for 12-months

Speaking following the meeting, Gerard O’Sullivan of Askeaton Swimming Club said: “Everyone accepts that improvement works need to be done in the pool, people have been anticipating that for years, but the lack of a contractor or no fixed contract (being) in place is what people cannot understand.

“Two things came out of the meeting: the first was that we are asking the councillors to go back to the Council and look at the timeline in order to minimise closure durations and the second is to consider the financial implications of this closure.

“Swimming pools, not just in Askeaton, need money to run and they tend to just break even on the day to day running costs - if monies are needed to keep this public amenity, for the whole of West Limerick, open then the funds are needed too.”

The main points which were impressed on councillors at the meeting included the lengthy closure period, the non-negotiable fashion in which the news was delivered the news and the financial implications of the sudden closure of the pool. 

A number of elected representatives spoke during the meeting which became heated at times.

While Mr O'Sullivan noted that councillors are now ‘committed to go back to the drawing board’ given concerns raised at the s meeting, he also said: “They [councillors] need to find a better way of doing this”. 

Acknowledging the support shown for the cause given the turnout, he added: “There was a great representation at the meeting, There were clubs there, elderly and youth swimmers were represented, and there were many people from private industries who gave examples of how works like this can be done in a tight timeframe to minimise, or even avoid, closures.”

See next week's Limerick Leader, broadsheet edition, for further coverage.