Swimming pool hours cut

Margaret O'Reilly

The swimming pool on the South Campus of Maynooth has been the cause of much debate this year amongst the students of the university. The opening hours of the swimming pool have been reduced this year by almost half. In previous years, the pool was open for thirty two hours per week, but this year, the hours have been reduced to twenty six hours a week. Thus, limiting the amount of time that students can use the pool by six hours. The Swimming Pool Development Officer Martin J McCann says that this is to facilitate a program of swimming lessons for children and adults. The money generated from this project is to go towards the increasing costs of running the swimming pool and also towards a new swimming program for the students. Mr McCann says that, although there is a reduction in hours, "there is a cleaner, warmer pool with better qualified staff. The overall benefit of lessons being available with higher standards is, in the longer term, a much better quality of service available to the student body." However the Students Union, who are paying €90 an hour so that students can avail of these services, feel that these hours are not enough. Student Union president Amanda O' Hara and Finance Officer Oisín O' Reilly have been discussing the issue with the bursar Mr Mike O' Malley and have so far managed to regain two hours but Vice President of the Students Union and Welfare Officer Sarah McEvoy feels that this is "unsatisfactory." She says that "the swimming pool is obviously a burning issue and has been since the beginning of the academic year. The loss of hours at the beginning of last semester was a serious blow to students with the hours cut by up to half. Since then, we have managed to regain two hours, but obviously this is unsatisfactory from the students' point of view. It is an issue that is amongst our top priorities in the Students Union and Amanda O' Hara and Oisín O' Reilly are dealing with it thus."