Update on planned works to Sean McDermott Street #swimmingpool

The temporary closure of the Sean McDermott Street swimming pool continues to disappoint given the use it has got in recent times by local clubs, schools and individuals. It is essential this hugely popular and much needed community facility in the heart of the North Inner City be re-opened as quickly as possible.

Following the decision by Dublin City Council to temporarily close the close, investigative surveys revealed that scale of the remedial work required to bring the pool back to standard for public use.

I can confirm that €750,000 will be spent by Dublin City Council to complete remedial works on the Seán McDermott Street swimming pool. The Government’s North-East Inner City Initiative, established by former Taoiseach, Enda Kenny in 2016, is contributing €250,000 towards the overall cost of these works.

In order to advance the much needed repair and remedial works, tender documents are now being prepared in order for the Council to select a contractor to undertake the repairs, which include the replacement of the tiles lifting in the pool floor and walls as well as new pipe work that is needed for the drainage system so that the badly corroded system currently in situ is removed.

The longer expected closure of the Sean McDermott Street swimming pool has been frustrating, particularly, the work that myself and Minister Paschal Donohoe have done along with Council officials to get the pool upgraded in recent years and to facilitate the growth in the numbers of people using the pool. The City Council should have been able to make better use of the time since Christmas where emergency or essential works were permitted under the Covid Public Health restrictions. It is not good enough we do not yet have a timeline for the completion of the tendering process, let alone when the works will begin.

Let me assure you Minister Paschal Donohoe and I are pursuing this matter with Dublin City Council and directly with the Chief Executive, Owen Keegan, in order to get a specific commitment as to when remedial works will take place and when users can once again make the most of the Sean McDermott Street swimming pool.