Newry Armagh Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

YOUNG CHILDREN DENIED FREE ACESS TO SWIMMING POOLS BY SELFISH COUNCILLORS "A mean and selfish act

Published: 2 December, 2008

Newry and Mourne Sinn Féin Councillor Brendan Curran has stated that many people in the area will question as to how Councillors who get free use of both Newry and Kilkeel swimming pools have denied that same facility to children. The Councillor was speaking after his motion to allow children into the Councils swimming pools from Monday to Friday between the hours of 3-30 and 6-30pm was rejected. "This scheme would have enabled lots of youngsters from the area to swim, have fun and get fit. Similar schemes in areas in England and Wales have boosted participation rates in some cases by 500 per cent. Granting even limited free access to children would have offered educational, health, sporting and social benefits for young people living in some of the most deprived parts of Newry and Mourne.On the one hand many thousands are being spent by this Council and other agencies, encouraging more participation in healthy living, physical recreation and sporting activity whilst on the other when practical and reasonable proposals are introduced to achieve those objectives, they are flippantly dismissed" said the Councillor who added "Councillors get free use of our Councils swimming faclilities but they have denied that same benefit to the children of the area. This was a mean and selfish act". He concluded by stating that he like his Party colleagues was convivmced that the proposal to provide limited free children swimming sessions was denied on purely political bias with no other rationale. "The cost to our Council would have been less than £10,000 per anumn, a small amount in relative Council spend terms. The arguments against the motion were shallow and had no rationale at all