Galway’s Leisureland pool set to be open to the public by October

Galway Leisureland swimming pool is set to re-open in early October, its board of directors confirmed at the weekend.

The popular facility has been closed since January due to damage caused in the severe Winter storms and there were fears that it could be January 2015 before it reopened to the public again.

However, following a board meeting on Friday, it was confirmed that it is on course to be up and running again by October.

There was a ‘full and frank’ exchange of views between a five-person delegation from the sports clubs that use the facility regularly, and members of the board, at a meeting that followed the board meeting on Friday.

City Council Director of Services, Tom Connell, also brought the delegation on a tour of the swimming pool and dressing rooms so that they could see firsthand the extent of the damage.

“To be honest, it’s like a bomb hit the place,” said Fianna Fáil City Councillor, Peter Keane, a member of the board.

“I think the meeting was very worthwhile and the tour of the facility gave the clubs an indication of the sheer scale of the damage that was caused to the swimming pool. It’s easy for people to criticise but they haven’t a clue what’s going on and they don’t realise the extent of the damage caused. It really is like a first fix of a new house, or even before that, there’s wiring everywhere and the tiling is all over the place and plastering isn’t done. It’s a mess but we have given an undertaking that it will be ready by October, which is ahead of the January schedule that our detractors had put out there.”

Chairman of the board, City Councillor Donal Lyons, in a statement, said board members were critical of the slow progress in having the facility re-opened.

It was pointed out at the meeting that members of the voluntary Board of Management were receiving undue criticism from certain quarters that they were to blame for the delays.

“It was clearly pointed out at the meeting that it was the officials at City Hall, the management of Leisureland and independent consultants appointed by City Hall who were negotiating with the insurance assessors and not the Board of Management,” insisted Cllr Lyons.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.