Campaign for new public pool in Limerick county town gears up

THE campaign to get a new, public swimming pool built in Newcastle West has moved up a gear. The Dean O’Brien Pool committee last week invited sitting councillors to spell out their position on the issue and to get behind the campaign to secure full council backing for the facility.

Committee members stressed the need for such a public facility for the town and the wider hinterland, pointing to the fact that some 1,800 school children alone could be within walking distance of a pool located on the Desmond Complex site and that it would provide a service to all ages and abilities.  Members also pointed to the advantages of their proposal to develop a district heating system in tandem with a new pool, which could provide heat to schools and a range of public facilities in the area including St Ita’s and which would contribute to cutting carbon footprint.

Cllr Michael Collins said he had fully backed the committee’s plan from the outset and had not changed. But a united front from councillors was key, as it would suit council management if councillors were not agreed.

 “If we don’t go united from the six councillors, we have a battle on our hands,” he said.

Some €40,000 had already been spent on reports, Cllr John Sheahan pointed out; the original report financed by West Limerick Resources which came down in favour of a pool at the Desmond Complex  and a second, BDO report, commissioned by the council. That BDO report, he said, had indicated a new pool could be sustainable but would impact on existing facilities in the area. It had raised a concern about displacement  he said “and there is where the problems arose.”

“We need a modern pool of size,” he agreed. Unfortunately, he said, the council’s official position now was that they were “not in favour of moving the project on”. He believed was needed was, an independent adjudicator.

A lot of people were going outside the county to use pools, Cllr Seamus Browne pointed out and he fully backed the committee’s campaign.  “I haven’t seen an alternative proposal to put a pool anywhere outside of the Desmond Complex,” he said. Public and private pools co-exist in every major town in the country, he pointed out, but for some reason they were being told it couldn’t happen in Newcastle West. “I can’t see how the private interest got into this,” he said.

Cllr Jerome Scanlan said he was in favour of “improved” facilities for Newcastle West. “I am not sitting on the fence,” he said. “I want value for money.” And he believed a submission to the Sports and Leisure strategy was the way to go.

Cllr Francis Foley said he supported the committee’s proposal for a new public pool. 

Kate Cussen, who chaired the meeting, said they were conscious of the concerns raised previously  by Killeline Leisure Centre.. The more people who swim, the greater the demand for facilities, she pointed out. “We take the view that Newcastle West needs not just improved facilities but a new public facility. We are really not competing with Killeline. We would like to peacefully co-exist.”And she noted a majority of councillors supported their position.

The councillors agreed to put the issue on the agenda of the next meeting of Newcastle West councillors with a view to then bringing it before the full council.  Council backing, they agreed, was needed to get access to exchequer funding.