Dublin City Council spent €130k to repair roof of Coolock Swimming Pool in building it doesn’t own
Dublin City Council (DCC) has spent €130,000 on an emergency repair for the roof of the currently shut Coolock Swimming Pool, in the Northside Shopping Centre.
The future of the facility has been in question since its closure in December 2024 following storm damage, with the council’s latest report on the matter saying that it would remain shut “until further notice”.
The shopping centre, which has housed the swimming pool since 1970, is privately owned by German real estate investor AM Alpha and managed by Savills, to whom the council pay an annual maintenance fee of €88,000.
Despite this, a DCC tender for emergency works, issued at the end of January, said the roof above the pool was in a “very dangerous” condition, with high winds dislodging several panes of glass in the structure.
"One of these panes have ended up on an adjacent roof and caused damage as it pierced a hole in its roof, another pane came lose [sic] and was never found,” the tender reads.
“It is imperative that temporary safety measures are implemented without delay to safeguard all individuals in and around the Northside Shopping Centre facility … the potential for further glazing failures poses a high risk of serious injury or property damage.”
Due to the “extreme urgency” of the situation, DCC awarded the contract to J&F Facility Services ltd without a prior call for competition.
This procedure is allowed for under tendering rules if the tender process timeline isn’t compatible with the works necessary.
A spokesperson for the authority said perspex panelling would now be installed to ensure the public’s safety and prevent damage to other roofs in the shopping centre.
DCC intends to enter negotiations with the building owners to “discuss” the works, they said, but did not provide assurances that the costs would be covered by another party.
Savills did not respond to a request for comment.
Social Democrats councillor Jesslyn Henry, who raised the tender issue during a council meeting, said the council had not been forthcoming with information on the contract.
“It’s really disappointing that they’re not answering for the tender for €130,000, because it’s a lot of money,” she told the Irish Independent.
"What’s in the lease? Do we have to fix this? Are we still paying rent on the building? They’re just not coming back to us, and I think that’s really, really disappointing. And I think from the public’s perspective, they have a right to know the money DCC are spending.”
She said it was “crazy” to spend public money on a building that the council likely won’t use again, especially when it’s privately owned.
The council appeared to agree in December of last year, when it said that proceeding with remedial works to the swimming pool would “not be financially viable.”
“To invest in a building which is not owned by Dublin City Council and where the main structure is now at end of life, the costs associated with Coolock Swimming Pool would be better invested into the new Kilmore sports centre,” a council report on the pool concluded.
Those plans involve a new north side leisure centre in Kilmore, which includes a 25m six-lane swimming pool. Planning submission for the project is expected to be lodged later this year.