The ongoing saga regarding the Glenalbyn Swimming Pool is set to be ratcheted up, with the local Sinn Fein representative accusing Minister Shane Ross of misleading people.
Sinn Fein’s Rosie Ni Laoghaire, has demanded that Shane Ross stop setting inaccurate expectations regarding the funding of Glenalbyn Swimming Pool. “Funding is not secured for the pool and Minister Ross knows it.”
Ms Ni Laoghaire was responding to comments from Minister Ross to the effect that the funding for the reconstruction of the pool has been secured.
She said: “My own expectations, and those of locals in the area, were high that we would finally have our pool restored after five years of empty, and broken promises.
“In the interest of clarity, Sinn Fein put forward an official question to the council executive on June 11, 2018, asking if the potential €33m liability attached to the council taking over Dun Laoghaire Harbour were realised, would it affect the funding of the pool?
“The reply was shocking. We were told that the risk was high and that, ‘if the council were to include these works, it would have a significant impact on the capacity to fund the overall Capital Budget and not just a single item, such as Glenalbyn Pool’.
“For Minister Ross to publicly state in recent weeks that the funding is secured is ludicrous.
“Unfortunately, according to the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown council executive, it is most definitely not secured, and Shane Ross needs to acknowledge this publicly, instead of filling us with false hope.
“The local community has been fobbed-off for far too long now – however, there is a solution.
“The fact is that Shane Ross is the only person who can offset the €33m liability.
“If Minister Ross wants to increase the likelihood of the funding being assured, he must meet with the full elected council and work towards reducing the impact of the liability.
“The council have sought official meetings with Ross. He has not attended. To me, this represents contempt.
“It is time for action and not false words. Enough is enough,” she said.
This claim was totally rubbished by Cllr Deirdre Donnelly, Independent councillor for the Stillorgan Ward, who has worked closely with Minister Ross on the Glenalbyn Pool project.
She told Dublin Gazette: “As a democratically elected public representative I have campaigned vigorously for Glenalbyn Pool since its closure in late 2013.
“I have been assured by DLRCOCO management that funding is in place for the refurbishment of this amenity.
“The reason it has not started is due to finalising access issues with Kilmacud Crokes GAA club, who own the land. It has nothing to do with funding.
“The pool has been one of my priorities since my election in 2014 and the demand is clearly there, given the large turnout at the many public meetings I organised since then.
“The Three Year Capital Programme was on the agenda at the March 2018 County Council meeting earlier this year. I raised the issue of funding for the project and was assured by management that the €10m put aside was still there and was available to progress the pool. The meeting was webcast and this is on public record.”
