Buncrana Leisure Centre has been ranked last for refurbishment despite being closed for 11 years, a meeting of Donegal County Council has heard.
A motion before today’s meeting, following a report from Swim Ireland, is calling for leisure centre provision across the county to be made the number one priority for recreational infrastructure, and for the council to formally seek support from Swim Ireland.
Councillor Fionán Bradley says there are around 20 swimming pools in Donegal, with 16 of those based in hotels, many of which already run swimming lessons and have waiting lists.
He also warned that even if Government funding was secured tomorrow, the council does not currently have the match funding required to progress the Buncrana project.
He says both Donegal County Council and Swim Ireland need to prioritise Buncrana:
However, Councillor Jack Murray said the motion did not go far enough.
He proposed an amendment that would reaffirm that Donegal County Council has already prioritised leisure centre provision across the county, and would also call on the Minister for Sport and the Government to provide the necessary capital funding to deliver long-promised facilities.
This was not accepted by Cllr Bradley.
Councillor Murray also suggested that, given Councillor Fionán Bradley’s connection to Fianna Fáil Minister for Sport Charlie McConalogue, the amendment could have been accepted to allow for greater cross-party cooperation:
