McConalogue hails major step towards Buncrana Leisure Centre being 'shovel-ready'

The decision by the shareholders of Buncrana Leisure Centre to transfer the ownership of its lands to Donegal County Council at last Thursday night’s extraordinary general meeting has been described by Minister of State Charlie McConalogue as another significant step towards the town’s new leisure centre being shovel-ready.

“Last Tuesday, I announced that up to €2 million in funding had been allocated to complete the detailed design of the new Buncrana Leisure Centre. The decision by the Buncrana Leisure Centre shareholders means that the land is being transferred into the ownership of Donegal County Council, which is necessary to enable the new leisure centre to proceed to construction,” the Minister of State for Sport and Postal Policy explained.

“A motion to declare the company insolvent was passed at Thursday night’s EGM, and it was important to hear the views from the Leisure Centre Committee members and County Council officials,” the Minister of State said.

“It was confirmed at the meeting that part of the design has already been done by Donegal County Council. The next step in the process is detailed design, and the indications are that this will take between nine to twelve months. Once this is completed, the project will be shovel-ready.”

“This project has been a key political priority of mine and I am fully committed to seeing it delivered and a new swimming pool and leisure centre developed in Buncrana for the people of Inishowen. I will continue to work to ensure this project’s completion and delivery,” Minister McConalogue added.

Local Councillor Fionán Bradley commented: “I am delighted to see the new pool move to the next phase of the project. I know firsthand the frustration locally given the pace of progress in relation to this issue, but I want to reassure people that much work has and is being done to get the project to this point.”

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Meanwhile, responding to the announcement of a €2m grant towards the cost of detailed designs, TD Pádraig MacLochlainn has asked when the government will fully fund the new leisure centre.

“We need answers for the people of Inishowen,” the Buncrana TD said. “Edenderry Swimming Pool Ltd, backed by Offaly County Council, was awarded €9 million last year, while our funding for Buncrana Leisure Centre was turned down. They had no site and no planning permission and no detailed designs.”

“The people of Buncrana and Inishowen, backed by Donegal County Council, had all of this in place.”

“I have asked the Minister for Sport again and again this year: when will the government fund our new leisure centre?” Deputy MacLochlainn said.