Sinn Féin’s Cllr. Kate O’Mahoney and Conor McGuinness TD have welcomed confirmation from Waterford City and County Council that a Working Group will be established to discuss a community swimming pool in Dungarvan.
The commitment comes alongside the allocation of €10,000 for sports facilities in Dungarvan and Tramore, which both representatives have welcomed as positive investment in local sporting infrastructure.
Cllr. O’Mahoney said the establishment of the Working Group marks an important step forward in a campaign that has enjoyed widespread community support for many years.
“This news that a Working Group will be established a positive development and one that local people have been waiting to see. However, discussions on this much-needed sports infrastructure is long overdue. There has long been a clear demand for a community swimming pool in Dungarvan from families, schools, swimming clubs and community organisations. The first and subsequently updated feasibility study recognised that demand, and the establishment of this Working Group gives us the opportunity to hopefully begin turning that evidence into a deliverable project.
“With a Council motion already passed, extensive engagement undertaken and best practice examined through visits to local authority pools across the country, the groundwork has been done. The focus must now shift from to actual delivery.
Deputy McGuinness said the priority now must be work towards applying for national funding:
“Major infrastructure projects don’t begin when a funding scheme opens. They begin with planning, preparation and political commitment. This Working Group must now lay the foundations so that Dungarvan is in a position to secure Government investment when funding opportunities arise.
He added that Dungarvan remains one of the largest towns in Ireland without a public swimming pool.
“For too long, Dungarvan has been an outlier. It has already established that there is sufficient demand for a community pool, yet no application has ever been made for national funding. That has to change. This Working Group must have a clear remit to bring the project to the stage where it is ready to compete for investment.
Welcoming the €10,000 allocation for sports facilities in Dungarvan and Tramore, Cllr. O’Mahoney said investment in local amenities is always worthwhile, but stressed that momentum behind the swimming pool project must now be maintained.
“Every investment in sport is welcome, but we cannot lose sight of all the work that has been put behind getting a community swimming pool for Dungarvan. A community swimming pool would be transformative for West Waterford, providing opportunities for swimming lessons, water safety training, recreation, health and wellbeing, while also supporting tourism and our local economy. We have a fantastic local swimming club who have to regularly travel long distances to train, several times a week. If our young people had the same opportunities are neighbouring towns, the possibilities would be endless. The time for talking has passed – now we need action.
Deputy McGuinness concluded:
“Cllr. O’Mahoney and I have consistently worked together to keep this project on the agenda because we know the difference it would make to Dungarvan and the wider West Waterford community. The Council’s decision to establish a Working Group is welcome. The challenge now is to ensure it delivers the progress that local people have been waiting for.”